Find out more
This year, our drama performances have reached new heights, with fantastic contributions from students across the cohort.
The Summer Term brought a vibrant array of productions, including Shakespeare in the Garden and more recently the A Level Spotlights, and Tick, Tick… Boom! These shows capped off a year of bold storytelling, creative risk-taking, and record-breaking participation.
The last few weeks of term did not disappoint with this year’s A Level Spotlights performance of ‘To the Fairest’, an original piece inspired by Ancient Greek mythology, complete with gods, golden apples, and fierce rivalries. With the tagline “When favour turns to fury and choice becomes a curse,” our students delivered a powerful and imaginative production that showcased their creativity and passion.
Our final production of the year, Tick, Tick… Boom!, transformed the CLR into 1990s New York City. This entirely student-led musical was directed by Maja W and tackled mature themes with both creativity and compassion. The story, centred on dreamers navigating life and ambition, highlighted the voices of a new generation, because ‘sometimes, the loudest booms come from the quietest struggles’.
From the swashbuckling adventure of Treasure Island, to the magic of Into the Woods, and the poignancy of Birdsong, this year’s drama productions offered something for everyone. Our stage became a space for daring pirates, mythological gods, and dreamers chasing time, all brought to life by an extraordinary cast and crew of students.
Alongside these, our student-written and student-directed plays – Embers by Tessa, Voices in the Riots by Darcy, and Tick, Tick… Boom! – showed how deeply embedded performance and storytelling are in the life of the College.
Participation in drama has never been higher, with more students involved than ever before. This growing community of performers, writers, designers and directors has made the drama department a creative hub that truly belongs to everyone.
This academic year emphasised the talent of our students, with 100% of our Upper Sixth drama school applicants being offered places at the UK’s top drama schools, a testament to the strength of our ever-growing community of exceptional performers.
Looking ahead, we’re excited to see next year’s productions: The Crucible as our Senior Play, Anastasia as the Whole School Musical, Once in a Lifetime as our Junior Play and many more student-led productions. Joining us in September is our new Head of Drama James Hammond, and we can’t wait to see what new ideas and creative flair he brings.
We are very proud of all the hard work our students and staff put into creating all our wonderful shows, we look forward to seeing our talented actors perform again soon!
