GCSE Drama and Performing Arts is a demanding subject; as well as spending time in the classroom, learning about various theories and practitioners, pupils have to write and direct an original piece of drama and perform it to a live audience. The practical element of the course showcases the creativity that the pupils have developed over the year, looking at their skills as a performer, as well as how they’ve applied their knowledge of constructing a piece of theatre to an inventive, practical performance. The pupils at Shiplake recently performed their coursework pieces. Split into two groups, audiences were incredibly impressed by the performances, that considered relationships, ambitions and depression.
The first group, made up of Fergus Elrington, Dhanyal Butt, Aaron Khalfa, Mathew Down, Sam Lowe, Finlay Morris and Jack Turnbull performed a piece called Prison. The piece, based around the Shakespeare quote ‘we are such stuff as dreams are made on’, considered life in a prison for both guards and prisoners. Hard-hitting from the start, the play started outside in the cold evening air, with the prisoners aimlessly wandering in the prison yard. A guard then forces them inside, and the innate violence and power struggle between the guards and the prisoners is established. From here, the audience were given an insight into the innermost thoughts and feelings of prisoners trapped away from family and home. The actors gave monologues to the audience; we were left in no doubt of the anguish felt by the prisoners, trapped inside. Physical theatre also played a part; whilst the actor was downstage talking about the sheer desperation to escape the life of isolation, the remaining actors were pushing on the walls, wrapping their arms around themselves and falling to the floor, all in unison. This served to emphasise what the monologue described- the physical actions displaying the loneliness and torment of the prisoners. Jack Turnbull and Finlay Morris played the guards wonderfully: there was a stark contrast between one guard who was power hungry, belittling the prisoners, and the other, who was more subdued, showing an empathy with the prisoners that belied his status as authoritative guard. The ending was powerful and heart-wrenching; one prisoner downs a handful of pills and shuts himself in a cell. The cell that was a trap for so long becomes a coffin and the only way out of the eternal misery is suicide.
The second play, Strings, was just as poignant and moving. Similarly, the piece was devised around the quote ‘we are such stuff as dreams are made on’, and the pupils had created a piece which looked at difficult relationships between fathers and sons, and the adverse effects this has. The two ambitious, young adults who are the protagonists for the piece were forced out of home by their abusive fathers. Played by Will Parton and Will Bailey, the boys gave flawless performances, and it was impossible not to sympathise with their difficult situation. Will Bailey’s character was desperate to be a poet, but this was not the path that his alcoholic, negligent father (played by Eliott Jordan) had chosen for him. Will Parton’s character wanted to play music, avoiding a career in politics that his father (Tom Coates) was pushing him towards. Ending up on the streets, the boys faced drug dealers and conmen. The piece was distressing, shining a light on the issues of youth homelessness, as well as familial relationships and over-ambitious parents.
The results reflected the level of hard work and commitment that the boys put into the pieces: everyone involved passed highly, receiving between A* and C grades. Will Parton, Will Bailey and Eliott Jordan received 100% for their performances; an exceptional mark, portraying the depth of character development. Full marks have only been awarded three times in the last five years, showing just how rare an achievement this is. The moderating examiner commented that ‘this was the best GCSE Performing Arts piece that I’ve seen in a very long time. I’m so impressed with the standard across both pieces.’
