12
September 2016
Abingdon
Drama
Theatrical Abingdonians
Teachers love seeing students do well, whether at school or beyond, so I
was especially chipper as I embarked on a recent trip to London for a day
of theatre involving current and former Abingdonians.
The day began at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse on Bankside. Situated in the
shadow of Shakespeare’s Globe, this beautiful indoor venue was the stage for
Southwark Youth Theatre’s
Romeo and Juliet
featuring 1st year pupil
Avery Trotter
.
The cast of 37 performed with gusto and imagination on a bare stage under simple
lighting, Avery featuring prominently as the larger-than-life character of the Nurse in
what was one of several bold ‘reverse gender’ castings. I wonder where this talented
young man will end up.
Much the same thought followed my first meeting in 1997 with
Simon Evans
(OA).
Like Avery, Simon was a young man blessed with talent, energy and determination.
He studied at Cambridge before embarking on a career as a director. As I headed to
the Southwark Playhouse for the matinee of his production of
A Midsummer Night’s
Dream
, I enjoyed a keen sense of symmetry; Simon’s first theatrical outing at Abingdon
had been in the same play. This was his fourth London production in as many months
- each one lauded with four and five star reviews. His version of the
Dream
featured
another former Theatre Studies pupil – Lucy Eaton – who was one of the early
pioneers of Abingdon’s successful theatrical collaboration with St Helen’s.
The day ended at the Hampstead Theatre with the first public preview of Wild, the
latest piece by award-winning playwright
Mike Bartlett
(OA). Mike was in Abingdon’s
first mixed A-Level Theatre Studies class. He originally wanted to be a director,
but began writing plays instead. His breakthrough came in 2007 with
My Child
at
the Royal Court. Since then, he’s produced no fewer than 13 plays and television
dramas, including
King Charles III
and
Doctor Foster.
Like all his plays,
Wild
is strikingly
thoughtful, entertaining and inventive. At least one stage direction defies the bounds of
science and imagination by requiring a character to “burst” like a balloon.
What connects these three theatrical
Abingdonians beyond their shared
school heritage? Perhaps a capacity for
bold action. Just as successful drama
requires characters who do things,
so, it seems to me, Abingdonians who
thrive are those with a determination
to act on their enthusiasms. Long may
they and their active impulses flourish.
Jeremy Taylor -
Director of Drama
Avery Trotter (5th from left and inset)
with the cast of Romeo and Juliet
Cast of Midsummer Night’s Dream Lucy Eaton in Midsummer
Night’s Dream
Simon Evans
Midsummer Night’s Dream photos:
Harry Grindrod
