On Thursday 13 October, the GCSE Drama pupils performed their exam pieces for a packed Tithe Barn. The group had been working on monologues and duologues from a variety of plays, taking the audience on an emotional rollercoaster and through a variety of different topics. Tom Nike compered the evening, introducing the pieces and the performers.
Parents, staff and fellow pupils packed the Tithe Barn, keen to see the emotional range from GCSE Drama pupils. Will Brunning took to the stage first, performing a monologue from Risk by John Retallack. The piece was about a conman/thief, describing how to get away with stealing. Will performed it brilliantly, engaging the audience as a conman. Morgan Taylor and Luke Mullin were next onstage, performing a duologue called Superman from Decade by Headlong. Centred on a newspaper, the piece was hard-hitting and intense, performed admirably. Sam Hargreaves gave a very compelling performance of I am the Wind by Jon Fosse. James Dallas and Robbie Cartwright performed a duologue from Home by Nadia Fall, which dealt with serious issues. There was a great contrast between the two characters onstage. Tooey Morris performed a monologue called Demissie from Zero, by Chris O’Connell. It was a very moving piece, about a man who had lost his job and sense of motivation in life with it. Marcus Brown and Isaac Neale were last to the stage, closing the evening with a duologue from Sarah Kane’s Krave. The piece, traditionally a very hard-hitting and explicit piece, caused some murmurs in the audience when first mentioned. However, the boys had managed to turn the piece on its head, creating humour and comedy in a serious play which closed the evening’s event with a light-hearted feeling.
Head of Drama Mrs Jenny Nunes commented: ‘the emotional range of performers was hugely tested; standing onstage performing alone to an audience is very difficult, and the actors dealt with this brilliantly. These are exam pieces and so the pupils are being tested; it was clear from the sincerity of performances that they took the challenge very seriously and gave it all their all.’