Beauty and the Beast - July 2016

This year we brought you "Beauty and the Beast", and I couldn't be more proud of all the cast, crew and musicians - it's been an amazing show to make.  The cast have worked tirelessly, with such skill, perseverance, dedication and commitment to their craft. I  admire their drive, effort and enthusiasm so much and thank them all for their hard work and for making it such fun! 

It hasn't been an easy process.  Mr Walker, Mrs Shackell and I took a long time to decide on the show, as always keeping it a big secret from all the students!  We weren’t able to pursue some of our original ideas, due to licensing laws and contracts, which was frustrating at times.  I wanted this show to be a contrast to our last production, ‘Les Miserables’, and it was surprisingly hard to find something suitable that we all liked and that we thought our students would embrace as well.   However, we continued the search and eventually came up with the idea of "Beauty and the Beast".  The show itself has been so enjoyable to make!

Making a piece of theatre in the new space has definitely presented a few challenges.  The stage area is twice the size of the "Old Hall", which was difficult to imagine and visualise at times, but the students have been open-minded to the challenge and taken on direction extremely well!  There have been new things to consider: catering for a larger audience and, ultimately, how the show is going to ‘fit’ in the new space. The production could not have been possible without the help and support of a huge amount of people.  Students, staff and parents—I thank you all so much!  The show was a triumphant success in the New Hall, with around 970 people coming to watch over the space of our four night run.  The students who participated were a joy to watch and work with; their passion and energy really came to life and the students were totally deserving of the standing ovations and applause.  I am already excited about starting to plan for the next one!