St Mary's Calne
In the last few weeks, our GCSE and A Level Dramatists gave superb performances in three wildly contrasting, but uniformly excellent, productions.
Firstly, UV presented extended extracts from the Gothic horror play, Ernest and the Pale Moon, in which Ernest (played by Amelia T in the first extract, and Martha C in the second), takes a terrible revenge on another man who has been courting his love - Gwendolen - from afar; a decision which sends Ernest spiralling into madness. The four-strong cast handled the extreme physicality and twists of the piece with flair and total commitment.
A change of tone was reflected in the second GCSE piece in which Ada R played the title role in both extracts from The Ballad of Maria Marten, a lyrical and moving play which tells the story of the tragic Maria, murdered by her lover in 1830s Suffolk. The story is reclaimed from ghoulish Victorian melodramas to focus on Maria, her friends, her hopes and her sad demise. The five in the cast were given a very warm round of applause from the appreciative audience.
The classic Victorian feel was also much in evidence in the A Level performance of an extended extract from the Bristol Old Vic adaptation of the classic Charlotte Bronte novel, Jane Eyre. Elowen F gave a fine performance in the title role, in which she endured the cruelty of Aunt Reed (played by Tilly H) before being sent to Lowood School, run by the puritan Brocklehurst (Sophie A). This is where she found her calling as a teacher and subsequently governess to Adele (Ella C) and her mysterious benefactor Rochester (Eva-Rose F) at Thornfield Hall. All of this was beautifully and empathetically lit by our student designer, Lottie S (UVI). An atmospheric and powerful performance with wonderful interpretations and multi-roling from the whole cast.
Mr Duncan Ellis, Director of Drama