Private School News

SHAKESPEARE AT THE ABBEY SCHOOL, READING

This term has seen the two major school productions at The Abbey. ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ was an ambitious and impressive Senior School play and the Junior School put on a lively, musical version of The Tempest.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream
The Senior School production of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ was a great success. The most famous of the Bard’s plays has everything – star-crossed lovers, conflict in fairyland, a royal wedding and the humour of Bottom and his head of an ass!

In order for as many girls as possible to be involved the two Directors, Miss Sutton and Mrs Airton, worked with two entire casts to stage three evening performances and an understudy matinee. The audience was welcomed and immediately travelled through time, escorted by the mischievous fairies, encountering actors in the corridors before taking their seats in a magical evocatively-lit setting.

The actors displayed incredible professionalism and had really worked hard to develop their characters in both the drama and comedy of the play.

The Tempest
All the Year 5 girls were involved in an exciting performance of ‘The Tempest’ to a delighted audience of family and friends. Not quite using all Shakespeare’s original words, the cast conveyed through drama, dance and song, the thrills, laughter, romance and wonder of the Bard’s tale.

With a cast of 50, the musical play thrilled the audience with a shipwreck, the machinations of Prospero and his unsurping brother, the three headed monster Caliban and enough Hobglobins and dancing Sprites to cause much mischief and mayhem. Ariel, a hard working crew of sailors and various other characters completed the line up of the play which showed us how a modern-day class of children learned to love the Bard of Avon.

The music and dance numbers were a delight, the costumes sparkled and a jiving rendition of ‘All shook up’ injected a surprise factor into the historical setting.

Photo: The Tempest

For further details please contact Nicky Hurley on 0118 987 6908 or marketing@theabbey.co.uk