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Department Reviews

SPEECH AND DRAMA

The year began on a very creative note with the Edinburgh Fringe Festival production of Loving the Accordionist, a 45 minute devised piece of theatre which explored the role of women during the Siege of Leningrad. Directed by the free-lance director, Fiona Ross and her assistant Director Jen Wicks and organised by Miss Delaney, this was again a highly successful tour. The girls thoroughly enjoyed the experience and the fun of the Fringe Festival.

There followed the ever popular ‘Play in a Day’, for which Junior Houses were given a colour as their stimulus, in readiness for one complete Sunday in which they had to prepare for a performance in the Princess Hall in the evening. Brilliant costumes and wonderfully imaginative ideas made for a spectacular evening of entertainment. At the end of the Autumn Term we had Ms Bond’s fabulous LC production of A Christmas Carol. This was a brand new adaptation written by Karen Louise Hebden for a professional adult theatre company using many of the words in the novel and interspersed with some well loved carols. This challenging choice of text was superbly mastered by the LC girls and packed audiences enjoyed their focus and extreme talent in producing the classic tale. They achieved a very high standard of performance, and the set, costumes, lighting, sound effects and props (including the artificial snow!) created a charming festive atmosphere.

The SFC2 students took on the exciting challenge of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice directed by Head of Speech and Drama, Miss Delaney. The Director of Music, Mr Hawley, composed beautiful music for the production. This production set the play in the 1940s with a wonderfully colourful set reflecting the houses of Venice and, of course, the bridges. With an innovative opening reflecting the theme of the persecution of the Jews, the girls, costumed in late 1940s suits, were outstanding in their interpretation of the text and the development of their characterisation. Miss Johnson from the English department was extremely helpful in supporting the girls with their understanding of the language. The girls were outstanding with many inspirational and moving individual performances.

In the autumn term the Jessie Scrivener Memorial Prize for SFCs was held, organised by Mrs Deacon-Jones. Girls had to act a short scene, recite a poem of their own choice, read an extract from the Bible and sight-read. Some excpetional work was performed.

In the annual Inter-House Public Speaking competition, the speeches were, as usual, impressive.

The practical examination work this year has been of an incredibly high standard. The AS students, directed by Mrs Revell, presented a moving, stylised, ensemble production of Find Me by Olwen Wymark, for their Unit 2 examination in May. The A level students began the year with their Unit 4 devised piece which explored the history of The Suffragettes. This was truly exceptional, confronting theatre. They followed this later in the year with two productions for the Unit 5 exam – extracts from The Memory of Water by Shelagh Stephenson and Be My Baby by Amanda Whittington. The girls have really excelled and bonded this year to create work of a highly professional standard.

In the summer term, the GCSE drama students created and performed both devised and scripted work for their final practical examination. The day of the exam saw eight full scale productions taking place in the Theatre Studio, including Dreams of Anne Frank by Bernard Kops, Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley, Pack of Lies by Hugh Whitemore and three new devised pieces centring on the Amish community, a juvenile detention centre and a revised and rather scary version of Little Red Riding Hood. Again the standard and focus of the girls was exceptional.

Mrs Wilson directed the UC4 Drama Club in a production of Oliver Twist early in the summer term. Adapted by Neil Bartlett this was a powerful ensemble re-telling of Oliver’s story which brought the menace and danger of nineteenth century London back to bold theatrical life! In what was a very busy time for the girls, they mastered the choral speaking and characterisation with complete calm and expertise. The show looked fabulous with a wonderful array of costumes.

In addition to the major drama productions, there have been continuous and enthusiastic evening rehearsals by CAMEO, who have had another successful year under the direction of Ms Mercati. Their more recent productions have been of Moulin Rouge, Singing in the Rain and The Little Mermaid.

As always, there has been a variety of trips to the theatre including, Northanger Abbey, Alice Through the Looking Glass, Noughts and Crosses, Testing the Echo, War and Peace and The Taming of the Shrew. The UC4 girls were fortunate to spend a wonderful day in London seeing Blood Brothers to support their GCSE coursework whilst the SFC2 girls took a trip to see Women of Troy and attended a workshop at the National Theatre to supplement their Unit 6 exam.

A number of girls entered the Cheltenham Festival of Performing Arts and College maintained its high standard of competitiveness with some very pleasing results. Of particular note was the success of Olabisi Bajomo who has succeeded in reaching the National Final of the Thomas Cranmer Award – a competition sponsored by the Prayer Book Society. This will be held in London in February 2009. Olabisi gained the highest mark in her age group at the Cheltenham Festival.

As part of the Saturday programme, we ran a three week course on the art of Public Speaking for LC1s, giving every girl the opportunity to give a speech in front of her peers, and culminating in the annual Geraldine Goode Competition.

With the prospect of wonderful new facilities now a reality rather than a dream, the construction across the road at the site for the new Performing Arts Centre is causing great excitement in the department and we are all very much looking forward to moving to our new home when it is completed.

News

Vicky Tuck – Telegraph Articles

Vicky Tuck – Telegraph Articles

Please see the links below for the latest telegraph articles written by Vicky Tuck. 28 November 2008, 05 December 2008, 12 December 2008, 19 December ...

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England’s National Under 16 Hockey Squad for 2009

England’s National Under 16 Hockey Squad for 2009

Issy Davies, currently in UC5 at The Cheltenham Ladies' College, has been selected for England's National Under 16 Hockey Squad for 2009. The...

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Gloucestershire Schools’ Debating Competition

Gloucestershire Schools’ Debating Competition

On November 27th Polly Mitchell and Tabitha Ward took part in the Gloucestershire Schools Debating Competition in the Parliament Room in Gloucester Ca...

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Drama Productions

Drama Productions

The Sixth Form production of Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s play 'The School for Scandal' will be held on 5th and 6th December at 7.30pm in the P...

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