Given the country’s current political climate, it is not surprising that Emanuel pupils still find the time to engage with and respond to their ever-changing social landscape.
Amidst the adrenaline rush associated with last year’s upcoming summer holidays, 12 talented pupils from Years 10 and above pushed through to the very end to produce an evening of high quality political satire for Play In A Week 2019.
Theatre Uncut was a response to the coalition government’s spending cuts that began in 2011: the company responded with passion and maturity to the material. All of the cast displayed impressive skills in multi-role and comic timing: highlights were Erica Ford’s transformation into a bumbling middle-aged man and Bluebell Freeman’s cold, calculating accountant who succeeds in persuading her client to sell off Grandma to eliminate the family debt; said grandmother was played with beautiful poise and comedic flair by Annabel Rumble. Wilf Mason-White delivered a powerful monologue about mental health which asked more than is usual of the audience: they played the character to whom he is speaking, reciting lines projected in front of them. All sections of the evening were brilliantly tied together by Daisy Jacob, playing a highly-entertaining TV gameshow host, with Livi Liu as her stunningly incompetent assistant.
None of this would have been possible without the hugely dedicated and hard-working student crew who built set, called light, sound and AV cues and facilitated scene changes on stage. And all of this in just a week. Congratulations to all!
Miss Stoby (Teacher of Drama)