This term Sixth Form pupils put on a great performance of Oedipus The King and The Bacchae. The (socially distanced) audience was blown away by the impressive performances given and was full of praise for the extremely talented cast and crew.
Oedipus The King meets a dark end, in a vision of white floaty garments and candlelight. Six One pupil Zoey plays the tormented Oedipus who discovers he unknowingly murders his father and marries his own mother.
Jocasta, played by Six One pupil Eloise, shows her character’s despair that Oedipus will find this terrible truth. The Chorus effectively multiroles as the other characters in the story, as blind voices in Oedipus’ head and some rather comical crows. This was a play with many complex moments to stage, but the cast rose to the challenge and performed with conviction.
The Bacchae was an hour of intense drama, concerning a grapple for power between Dionysus and Pentheus, set in a derelict junkyard. The action is enhanced by effective trance-like ensemble movement and vocal pieces, performed by the rest of the cast who multirole as the other characters in the story.
The drama hit a gory climax which was not for the faint-hearted! Dramatic and emotionally hard-hitting performances were given from all.
In order to observe current restrictions, both performances happened twice at different times, which allowed all pupils to watch them. The two productions were also recorded and shared with parents so that everyone had a chance to enjoy these captivating Greek tragedies.