The Drama department had a busy few weeks leading up to the Easter holidays, rehearsing and preparing for the Shakespeare Schools Festival performance which took place on the 19^th of March at the Contact theatre in Manchester. Miss Pusey, Mrs Simpson, Mrs Richardson, and I, along with over 20 pupils from Year 7, 8 and 9, set out on the Tuesday morning for our dress rehearsal in the theatre, ready for our evening show. For some of these students it would be the first time they had ever performed on a stage, let alone a professional stage. 

Our play this year was Romeo and Juliet, and the cast took to it like ducks to water, really engaging with the abstract staging and colourful characters. 

Though it was an ensemble piece and every student played their parts incredibly well, special mentions must go to Joe (Year 9) and Isla (Year 8), our Romeo and Juliet, who brought real maturity and charm to their (rather challenging) roles, and also to our Year 7s who opened our performance with such confidence. 

At the theatre, our students were the most focused and professional group we have yet taken to the Contact for the SSF: they were respectful to both the space and the staff supporting them, and set a superb example for the 2 primary schools they performed with. 

Our entire ensemble worked so hard to create a really memorable piece of theatre and I, for one, couldn’t be prouder. 

Miss Spencer