When many other theatres are decking the halls and tying up the tinsel, Performing & Production Arts students at Stratford-upon-Avon College presented their final performances of the year focusing on manipulation, political unrest and murder.
Second Year students from the Acting, Musical Theatre and Backstage Production Arts courses presented two shows. Death Becomes Them is a collision of Shakespeare’s most violent tragedies. Then, history took centre stage in Cabaret of Conflict, a musical journey through moments of real-life struggle, courage, and change. It shone a spotlight on the conflicts that shaped the world – and the music that united us together.
Both pieces were supported by the Backstage Production Arts students who designed and operated the technical aspects of the show. The sets looked stunning and the smooth running of the productions is a testament of the incredible teamwork in this department.
Backstage Production Arts students supported the running of the shows perfectly
Each piece showcased a plethora of talent. In Cabaret of Conflict the group numbers allowed students to show off dance routines, high energy scenes and excellent harmonies. Special mentions go to Honor Edwards for her passionate rendition of On My Own from Les Miserable, Saffron Edwards who showed phenomenal vocal skill during Me and The Sky from Come From Away and Freddie Hobbis whose song The Letter from Made In Dagenham left not a dry eye in the house.
Top left students sang in Les Miserable, top right Honor Edwards, bottom left Freddie Hobbis and bottom right Saffron Edwards
Death Becomes Them was the Shakespeare offering of the year. Rather than perform one of the Bard’s plays, students brought a mashed-up masterpiece of murder and mayhem. Delivering scenes from all of Shakespeare’s Tragedies, the show allowed the students to dive into deep drama as they wove the darkest scenes from his most tragic work into a cacophony of chaos and crime.
Performing Shakespeare in this town can be nerve wracking, living up to the reputation of shows gone by. However, the Acting students in this production shone a new light on these well-known plays and it was gripping throughout.
Great comic performances by Lilith Eberhart and Eloise White as Murder 1 and 2 in Richard III, a beautiful movement sequence from Visa Hicks as Desdemona, and heart wrenching desperation as Lavinia from Diana Truchanova showed the blossoming talent of these young performers.
Two performances particularly worthy of note were Samuel Stacey and Jack Hobson. Samuel brought a physical presence that owned the stage. Fights, physical theatre, madness; all perfectly executed. Jack’s performances as a range of titular characters including Macbeth and Titus Andronicus showed diversity of skill, handling comedy and drama with ease. It was a masterclass of a performance and it wouldn’t be surprising to see this performer on a larger stage in town later in his career.
Left Jack Hobson and right Samuel Stacey
So though there were no jingle bells, these shows were exactly what we wanted for Christmas this year!
