Brentwood School - Brentwoodian 2020

36 Coram Boy Coram Boy was such an amazing experience to be part of. Sadly the show didn't get to happen because of COVID but I will cherish the amount I learned from the process and the memories made in our many rehearsals. Being part of Coram Boy was so exciting as the play touched on some more serious topics. The show revolves around many characters such as Alexander, Meshak and Melissa as they work their way through an unusual love triangle, Otis and Mrs Lynch, whose illegal schemes risk getting them on the chopping block, and Toby and Aaron searching for their parents, and somehow all these stories intertwine for an intense climax that ends in murder…Getting to work with Miss Foster again was great as she is such an approachable director and she really helped the whole cast to develop a great bond. I made some amazing friends throughout the experience, in particular Elana; we worked so well together and it was really good to work with her and make a great new friend. All of the cast worked so hard in preparation for the show and I feel lucky to have been a part of it. Hopefully, one day, we will have the opportunity to showcase it to the world! By Murray Peat There are no words that could possibly sum up the excitement or exhilaration of being a member of a Brentwood School Drama Production. One of the many brilliant productions put on by Brentwood School this year was William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night as part of the Shakespeare Schools Foundation. It was a spectacular performance directed by the fabulous Mrs Hermosa and performed by the talented pupils in Year 10 in the Broadway Theatre, Barking, among other schools. Unfortunately, we were not able to perform the show in school due to COVID-19, but we were able to pull off an incredible performance filmed on Zoom, which exceeded all expectations with all of the colourful characters and hilarious performances! But of course we would not have been able to accomplish our online show at the best without the hardworking and determined cast, director and, of course, Cameron Davies, who put the whole online show together and who additionally handled the technical side to the performance in the theatre. By Elana Aseerwatham Twelfth Night On both the 8th and 9th October, my peers performed Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler . It was a gripping piece of theatre with some excellent acting and production elements alike. The Senior production took place in Old Big School, an unorthodox performance space but incredibly successful nonetheless. Despite the great work of all performers, certain actors spring to mind. Max Tomlinson as Eilert Lovborg sold the part entirely - his well calculated and naturalistic performance made me believe I was watching Lovborg himself as opposed to a school student. It would be wrong not to mention Emily O’Sullivan who, as Hedda Tesman, mesmerised the audience with a performance full of nuance. An incredibly challenging role - each actor, director and audience member would interpret the character differently. I found her delivery and stagecraft helped me understand the conflicted persona and, convincingly expressed, Hedda’s motives and thoughts. A true Stanislavski inspired performance left me stunned by the gunshot in the closing seconds with a host of questions unanswered. An excellent band of actors did this incredible work justice. Mrs Clark’s expert directorial and creative decisions were equally successful. Having experienced just part of the stress of furnishing the set, it was a great relief to see it completed. Even the electric piano to substitute the broken acoustic upright suited the set well. The original 1557 fireplace was central to it, garnished with real flowers and plenty of other plants. It was, of course, different to traditional performance spaces such as the Memorial Hall or the Wessex auditorium, but I believe it benefited for it. An incredibly memorable theatrical experience. By Will Johnson Hedda Gabler