Framlinghamian 2022 - Flipbook - Page 42
CREATIVE &
PERFORMING ARTS
Ollie Moore
DRAMA
Rupert Vaughan
PYGMALION
At the beginning of September, fresh from
the Edinburgh Fringe, we showcased our
talented cast of eight in a cross-dressed
version of Bernard Shaw’s ‘Pygmalion’.
Aine Craig, Holly Van Assen, Oscar
Welsh, Rupert Dean, George Hunt, Grace
Bowden, Ella Hamilton-Wright and Rupert
Vaughan all put in splendid performances.
This is always a tremendous trip and
opportunity for our students to be actors in
a troupe, bringing in their own audiences
and selling the show. The ensemble living
together, making dinners and sharing shows
and adventures in the Fringe is an excellent
pre-university experience for the students. It
is always a privilege to be with them. Along
with performing our own show, we see
some great theatre, hilarious comedy acts,
spectacular circus acts, and the tradition
of walking to the top of Arthur’s Mount is
a really special moment in the week where
the group gain a real sense of collective
accomplishment.
Aine Craig and Rob Monaghan
40
THE FRAMLINGHAMIAN 2019
Aine Craig, Amelia Schroeter
THE CHERRY
ORCHARD
Last Autumn we performed Simon Stephen’s
take on Chekov’s final masterpiece ‘The
Cherry Orchard’. This was an ensemble
production which is, on one level, a
comedy about a family facing ruin, but
on the other hand a poignant and tragic
snapshot of the violent transition that comes
to a head with the Russian Revolution in
1917. The cast enjoyed playing to an
engaged and laugh-out-loud audience
on each of the three nights. We staged it
on a thrust stage with audience raked on
three sides which gave the audience a very
intimate experience of the performance.
With costumes and main props and
furniture from the National Theatre, the
look was beautifully authentic for the period
(1905) and this was a potent production
with champagne corks popping and wine
being poured and guzzled from beginning
to end. Terrific performances from all
the leads were thrilling to see: Amelia
Schroeter, Rupert Vaughan, Laurie Bertram,
Aine Craig, Rob Monaghan and Eleanor
Petheram all graced the stage with nuanced
performances.
The supporting cast of Oliver Moore, Peter
Mackee, Laurence Myers-Allen, Paddy
Fitzpatrick, Sam Tomlinson, Emma Buckle
and Giles Kelleway all performed admirably
with some cameos producing near scenestealing performances. This production was
helped on many levels with the presence
of Grace Bowden whose intelligent and
focused stage management throughout
helped everything backstage and onstage
run smoothly and happily. Darren Tansley
wrote music for the play which enhanced
the power of the scenes and the story-telling
with a real beauty.