Sixth Form Trip to the West End

On the 28 of March a group of seven boys from the Upper and Lower Sixth were invited to the Harold Pinter theatre in London’s West End. Will Andrew (L6d) gives his account of this incredible opportunity, meeting actor and Old Shirburnian Charlie Cox...

"We watched a fantastic production of ‘Betrayal’ by Harold Pinter, starring Charlie Cox and Tom Hiddleston. We were lucky enough to have some time before the production to speak to Charlie Cox himself. He gave us a very interesting insight into his back story, where he started and his timeline of what he did after Sherborne. He provided lots of useful advice and tricks of the trade, as well as individual help and support, telling us to reach out to him should we choose to go forwards in an acting or dramatic career. After a Q+A, he gave us a tour of the theatre, which included walking on to the stage and meeting some of the creative team who work on the production. We were all very grateful and lucky to be able to have such an interesting and inspiring experience.  

The production itself was incredible. The actors used pauses and silence to create tension on stage and the set and space were used in a very thought-provoking way. All the actors performed incredibly especially Charlie, who maintained a believable and engaging character throughout the whole 90 minutes, never leaving the stage once. We were lucky to have some insight into the show, as Charlie had talked to us about a few key moments before the performance. This made the whole experience even more interesting for us. We all loved the show and the day as a whole and we are very grateful to Mr Robinson and Charlie Cox for providing such an enriching and once in a lifetime opportunity."