Much Ado About Nothing
This year’s school play, directed by Mr Brennan, was Shakespeare’s ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, fusing comedy, tragedy and romance into a fast paced performance.
| 13 Jan 2020 | |
| General |
This year’s school play, directed by Mr Brennan, was Shakespeare’s ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, fusing comedy, tragedy and romance into a fast paced, turbulent plot, exposing broken relationships between brothers, the seemingly instant change of love into hate, and the detrimental effects ‘a little scheming’ can have.
The play begins with the much awaited arrival of the noble lord Don Pedro (played by Reuben Crombie) at Leonata’s court, bringing with him Claudio, his estranged brother Don John (played by Hugo Negron Jennings, and Benedick (Ben Norbury), reuniting him with his old flame Beatrice (Daisy Phillips), a reunion that will cause all kinds of drama. Here also begins the timeline of Claudio (Jordan Williams) and Hero, the second pair of lovers in this production. There may be joy and celebration in the hearts of the many, but Don John has other plans, and sinister schemes, will leave their marks on these unsuspecting couples. Amidst all the tension, spirits were lifted by the comical Dogberry (Rio Silva) and his two simple accomplices, Verges (Jennifer Garvey) and Seacole (Kaja Posnik), their classic slapstick comedy bringing a welcome change to the dramatic events that unfolded during the first half.
Performing Shakespeare is never an easy task, but was ably completed by an extremely capable cast, who, over the four months of rehearsing, got to grips with their characters and understood their individual roles and their relations to the plot. Commendations must be given to Ben Norbury, Jordan Williams, Daisy Phillips, and Rebecca Powell, and Rio Silva, and their professional execution of incredibly complex and challenging characters; having to learn an abundance of lines amidst other commitments, not to mention the lurgy that circled its way through the cast.
As with any production, the months of rehearsals seemed to have flown by as the performance loomed ever closer. It seemed only days ago that the cast first received their scripts, but fast forward past the first rehearsals in the theatre, past the first costume fitting and subsequent dress rehearsals. Now add in lights, sound effects, and a phenomenal set, and you’ve got a play. The end of term was fast approaching and this meant that levels of weariness were at an all time high, and with that came illness. With impeccably bad timing, viruses and colds alike swept the cast, sadly meaning that some of the cast were not able to attend one night of the performance week. However, massive thanks must go to Lori Murchie and Zara Higgins who heroically stepped in at the last minute to cover for those who were unfortunately too ill to perform, the whole cast were so grateful for all that they did.
Performances went extremely well, given the not ideal conditions, and before the cast knew it, they had completed their final performance, bringing a close to their Much Ado time. The audience, freezing as they were, seemed to enjoy the performances, laughing along with Benedick and his hopeless romantic ways of navigating love, empathising with Hero and her spiral to disgrace and showing their visible dislike for Don John and his villainous schemes.
I don’t think any of the cast members would have, or could have predicted that, given four months, they could create such a production as they did. Of course, none of this would have been possible without Mr Brennan’s dedication to this show and everything it involved. The whole crew, backstage, lighting, and make up teams should be incredibly proud of all they achieved in making such a memorable show.
Howard Brown
The play begins with the much awaited arrival of the noble lord Don Pedro (played by Reuben Crombie) at Leonata’s court, bringing with him Claudio, his estranged brother Don John (played by Hugo Negron Jennings, and Benedick (Ben Norbury), reuniting him with his old flame Beatrice (Daisy Phillips), a reunion that will cause all kinds of drama. Here also begins the timeline of Claudio (Jordan Williams) and Hero, the second pair of lovers in this production. There may be joy and celebration in the hearts of the many, but Don John has other plans, and sinister schemes, will leave their marks on these unsuspecting couples. Amidst all the tension, spirits were lifted by the comical Dogberry (Rio Silva) and his two simple accomplices, Verges (Jennifer Garvey) and Seacole (Kaja Posnik), their classic slapstick comedy bringing a welcome change to the dramatic events that unfolded during the first half.
Performing Shakespeare is never an easy task, but was ably completed by an extremely capable cast, who, over the four months of rehearsing, got to grips with their characters and understood their individual roles and their relations to the plot. Commendations must be given to Ben Norbury, Jordan Williams, Daisy Phillips, and Rebecca Powell, and Rio Silva, and their professional execution of incredibly complex and challenging characters; having to learn an abundance of lines amidst other commitments, not to mention the lurgy that circled its way through the cast.
As with any production, the months of rehearsals seemed to have flown by as the performance loomed ever closer. It seemed only days ago that the cast first received their scripts, but fast forward past the first rehearsals in the theatre, past the first costume fitting and subsequent dress rehearsals. Now add in lights, sound effects, and a phenomenal set, and you’ve got a play. The end of term was fast approaching and this meant that levels of weariness were at an all time high, and with that came illness. With impeccably bad timing, viruses and colds alike swept the cast, sadly meaning that some of the cast were not able to attend one night of the performance week. However, massive thanks must go to Lori Murchie and Zara Higgins who heroically stepped in at the last minute to cover for those who were unfortunately too ill to perform, the whole cast were so grateful for all that they did.
Performances went extremely well, given the not ideal conditions, and before the cast knew it, they had completed their final performance, bringing a close to their Much Ado time. The audience, freezing as they were, seemed to enjoy the performances, laughing along with Benedick and his hopeless romantic ways of navigating love, empathising with Hero and her spiral to disgrace and showing their visible dislike for Don John and his villainous schemes.
I don’t think any of the cast members would have, or could have predicted that, given four months, they could create such a production as they did. Of course, none of this would have been possible without Mr Brennan’s dedication to this show and everything it involved. The whole crew, backstage, lighting, and make up teams should be incredibly proud of all they achieved in making such a memorable show.
Howard Brown
