London Theatre Trip

Last week, 11-13 June, the annual London Theatre trip saw 54 students and 5 staff spending three days in the capital, experiencing a wealth of theatre both as audience and participants. We stayed in Southwark, five minutes’ walk from Bear Pit Lane, right in the heart of what was, in Shakespeare’s day, the notoriously exciting but dangerous playground of London.

Students saw the immersive performance of Agatha Christie’s ‘Witness for the Prosecution’, performed in the grandeur of the debating chamber in London’s County Hall. This courtroom drama had the audience on the edge of their seats, trying to guess who had committed the murder!

On Friday morning, the students participated with great energy in an acting workshop on this play at Pineapple Studies. We also saw the award-winning musical Hadestown, a mash-up of Greek myth with a 1920s New Orleans setting. The show placed the band at the heart of the action and gave us superb music, singing and setting design. We also had a tour of the Globe Theatre and a workshop on Macbeth in their rehearsal rooms.

The students have gained valuable insight into live theatre to use in their GCSE and A level questions. I would like to personally thank all the staff members who participated; Mrs Allen, Mr Lawrence, Mrs Pickup and Mrs Pignatiello, and Miss Etherington, for helping organise it. Special thanks are reserved for Mrs Pignatiello, who brilliantly organised this wonderful opportunity for our students.