Produced and directed by 'Pop Guerrier' (history master), written by Rev Richard Barham.
Featuring Geoff Yates as King Richard (seated) and John Blackman as trumpeter.
Produced and directed by 'Pop Guerrier' (history master), written by Rev Richard Barham.
Featuring Geoff Yates as King Richard (seated) and John Blackman as trumpeter.
THE JUNIOR DRAMA CLUB.
At the end of the Spring Term the J.D.C. added to the gaiety of the nation in general and the School in particular by a performance of A. A. Milne's " The Ugly Duckling." Or rather, they used Mr. Milne's text as a sort of spring-board from which they dived at intervals into a brew of mime, buffoonery, and general lunacy of their own compounding. But the diving team knew their business and their antics left their audience limp with laughter. Even those who toil backstage caught the prevailing hysteria-the prompter's giggles as he sought madly to find his place in the wrong book competed at intervals with the curtain-shaking guffaws of Mr. Matthew's expert underlings. The austere Brooker himself allowed an occasional dry chuckle to escape from the direction of the switch board. And at the centre, riding the whirlwind and directing the storm were a very fine team of young actors. For a team they were. Theirs was a combined onslaught. Combes, Pester and Ascott gave us some first class clowning. Combes as the King was the admirable keystone on whom the arch of the evening depended. He performed the difficult feat of being at once regal and funny with the aplomb of a professional. He timed his business perfectly, and, best of all, he knew when to blend gracefully with the background. Pester as the loudest mouth of Queens was a perfect foil. Their scene with Ascott were amongst the funniest seen in the School for a long time. Ascott gave a nicely judged performance: as at intervals the King and Queen momentarily subsided, Dulcibella took command with some inspired miming. One can give no greater praise to the non-clowns than to say that the torrent of farce swirling around their ankles never looked in the least like sweeping them away. Smith's Princess, the Ugly Duckling herself, was a charming performance. He subdued the all but irrepressible clowns with a look and, in the quietest of voices, brought a note of pathos as a point of rest between the whirligig of the first and last scenes. Summer's * Prince,' Blackman's * Carlo,' and Hartley's * Chancellor' were the well balanced contributions of seasoned performers who know how to subdue their lights for the general good. The Prologue was in the capable hands (or rather tonsils) of Davis, B. He introduced the characters to us with the suavity of a ringmaster. Noises-off (no small part in this production where, indeed, they were occasionally noises-on) were produced by Tucker and his trombone, a matchless pair. It was a night to remember. The " Ugly Duckling was preceded by a staff-reading of a Welsh comedy, " Birds of a Feather." We hope it is the forerunner of many similar efforts. S.R.P.
