Congratulations to our cast and crew of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ for their stunning performance in the prestigious Shaftesbury Theatre in the West End last Sunday. I could not be prouder of how our pupils conducted themselves both on the stage and off.

The audience may not have known that we themed our show style around the idea of the moon, given that there are a lot of references to the moon in the original play, and also that in the time of Shakespeare’s work, people believed in the power of moon and the stars to tell their fortunes, and determine their fate. We were all therefore, extremely excited to discover that on the day we were due to be performing this show, it was the February Snow Full Moon on Sunday 1^st February, thought to be a celestial symbol of creative transformation.  We had included some moon salutation movements into our play from traditional yoga and meditation. This news about the full moon brought an atmosphere of calm focus and creative purpose to our whole rehearsal day in the space and energised us for our moon cycle themed movement sequences!

The audience was enchanted by every moment of the cast’s performance and they (and we, in the wings!) could not stop laughing at the brilliant comedy they brought to life on stage. From Puck’s mischievous tricks and playful interferences to Oberon and Titania’s unforgettable King and Queen energy and comedy, to Bottom’s hilarious confidence, every single character added their own unique charm. The confusion and antics of the four lovers, the elegance and playfulness of the fairies and the woodland ensemble made the forest, and the force of the moon energy seem truly alive. The mechanicals’ melodramatic attempts at their play within the play (plus some extra special play that goes wrong moments live on the night, courtesy of a forgotten cape!),  had the audience laughing out loud and the timing and energy of every scene was brilliant. Well done to all of our wonderful singers on the night too, you brought the original music to life and sounded so beautiful.

Girls, your hard work, creativity, and dedication in our rehearsals were so clear in every moment, and it was a joy to see Shakespeare’s unique humour and imagination brought to life with such talent.

A big thank you to all of my fellow Drama Team members, Miss Parkins, Miss Dawson, Miss Hanton and Miss Berk for their incredible support, and to all the staff volunteers on the day who supported with supervision, hair and makeup and more. We couldn’t have done the show without you. As ever, Mr Page, our technician was an incredible support to us, as we liaised with the professional tech team who were absolutely wonderful.

I thoroughly enjoyed directing this show and working with such a hardworking cast, in fact so much so that I spent the entire show beaming and/or dancing in the wings of the Shaftesbury Theatre. I very much look forward to the watch party which we will announce for cast once we have the footage edited. We will also share this video with parents and the school community.

Congratulations to all on a performance that was ethereal, entertaining and completely unforgettable!

Miss Smyth, Head of Drama