On Thursday 9 and Friday 10 March, our Senior Drama Company crashed a plane in the tropical island that was once the Surbiton Assembly Rooms Main Hall. Pupils from across Years 10 to 13 emerged from the wreckage as a group of young 1950s girls. Soon order turned to disorder, fires escape their control, the girls use masks of blood to dehumanize themselves, and their growing obsession with hunting and death leads them to murder and savagery.
In only 6 short weeks of rehearsal time, our older talented cast and crew worked with energy and passion in their creation of this bold and experimental performance. Their in-the-round audience were sensorially confronted with onstage fights, flashing lights, haze, dead bodies, and loud soundscapes. All the non-diegetic, atmospheric sound heard throughout the evening was created by the company themselves and performed live. The audience watched with horror as our excellent actors performed these well-behaved and disciplined schoolgirls (shown so brilliantly in the opening choral section) and then altered their characters into increasingly darker versions of themselves. The staging was extremely creative, with the moon hanging ominously over the action, and the use of the scaffolding was exciting and inventive. This experience has grown our pupils as character actors and the ensemble were highly committed. It was clear the students were having a fantastic experience and the audience were too.
Thank you to all involved with this incredible performance of Lord of the Flies.
Learn more about our Drama and Dance Department.
Categories: Events Senior School
