Drama Performance at Eaton, 14-15 May 2015
On 14 of May 2015, Eaton students were all bustling behind the red walls for their class performances. Some were outside changing into their costumes while others were waiting with their teachers and classmates. The bustle was for all about the reason that particular day was the first day of the drama performance!
The first class to perform was Miss Marie’s Celtic Life Talk, or better still, Celts 101. Students were popping in and out covering almost every part of Celtic life written by the drama teacher, Ms Diyana or Didi for short. It was educational but sadly no parent in sight brought their notepad. Interestingly, one very shy boy used the shield to cover his face so that nobody could see his face.
Next in line was Miss Michaela’s “Jack and the Master” which was a story when Jack “the fool” transformed into Jack “the cool” when he found ways to trick his evil master using every direction and technique in the trick book. Interesting.
The third performance was Mr Badaoui’s year 2 class about the Roman invasion of Britain. The performance didn’t appear like such - only a group of students telling the audience about Roman life in Britain (possibly) and the others dressed in Roman garment with a helmet and a shield shouting “Go Romans!”.
Fourth to come was Miss Milly’s class, “The Creation Of The World” according to the Vikings. It was all about Loki the trickster observing wise Odin creating three worlds (Jotunheim, Asgard and Midgard) with a big rainbow bridge (Bifrost) that connected Asgard and Midgard together. Do not get confused with the rainbow bridge in Japan!
Following that was Miss Clare class’s Thor and the Giants performance where mighty Thor travelled with Loki the trickster (that’s me!) and went to defeat the mighty giants of Jotunheim. Sadly, Thor found his plan backfired with a pinch of the giants’ mysterious, unpredictable magic that turned every Thor’s trick unworkable. My role was Loki, I had green spots on my face and a huge black beard painted out of green and black paint makeup. My costume was a brown undergarment with a blue badge draped over it. I was not at all nervous waiting for my turn to go onto the stage. I had the second most number of lines in the performance. My friend Anson who was playing Thor was under the weather and could not perform in the final rehearsal. We were all worried that the performance might not take place as Thor was the main character. Thankfully, he bounced back to health and finally turned up for the performance on Thursday evening.
Next was Year 4’s Henry VIII and his wives. It was about Henry’s six wives. Some parts of the performance were hilarious while some parts were gruesome where two of Henry’s wives were beheaded. Nevertheless, it was one of the most interesting performances.
After that was Year’s 5’s series of performances about what happened to Britain when Queen Victoria ruled Britain. Audience were shown the differences between Victorian and modern football, show empathy to some Victorian children born to peasants, celebrate Queen Victoria’s coronation and relive a scene of the Crimean war with “soldiers” holding huge cardboard “guns” to “shoot” at their “enemies” on the “battlefield”.
Coming up was Year’s 6’s series of performances about World War 2. It started with my teen fan, Dylan pretending to advertise Anderson shelters. Then there were scenes of Anne Frank’s time in the Annex trying to hide from the Nazi and the German surrendering to Britain.
After that was the performance titled James Bond in Wonderland. The plot resembled Alice in Wonderland, where the well-known British secret service agent James Bond followed a white rabbit (the March Hare) into a fantasy world. It was truly an adventure for James Bond. Magnificent performance!
Next in line was Sherlock Holmes: The Reichenbach Fall. The performance was about Sherlock Holmes who died possibly of murder, leaving his best friend Watson to mourn about his death. It was marvellous.
Lastly was Year 8’s The Merchant of Venice, after Shakespeare’s play. The performance was about the lovesick Bassanio, a young Venetian who tried to woo the beautiful and wealthy heiress Portia. Is it better to woo the woman with gold, silver or a person’s own thoughtfulness? Could the greedy moneylender, Shylock’s heart be softened?
It was truly a rewarding experience for all students who organised and participated in the performances. Each ticket was hand painted by secondary students. Some parents even helped out in making the costumes and stage props. It was one of the most memorable events for me since I joined Eaton. With another performance planned before the Christmas term break, I can’t wait for another opportunity to be on the stage again.
