Page 6 - Abberley Adventures - April 2022

ABBERLEY ADVENTURES
6
Drama and LAMDA
Matilda Jr – Review by Mr Tapper.
Matilda burst onto the Abberley Hall stage in three fizzing performances. Matilda (Eleni) was every bit the child star to challenge the evil headmistress Mrs Trunchbull, played menacingly by Archie. Eleni’s clear and pitch-perfect voice enunciated every syllable. Archie captured the domineering role with his disdainful sneers and well- timed sentencing of ‘The Chokey’.
Providing the link between these two was the gentle force of teacher Miss Honey (Amor), who sung beautifully. She led a formidable chorus as they cowered under the menacing Trunchbull. Playing the speaking children’s roles (also singing and dancing) strongly were Josh, Bea, Jacob, Mateo, Olivia, Alex, Nell and Kitty.
The excruciating Wormwoods were brought to terrible life by Henry and Olivia, vividly portraying the abusive and neglectful book-hating parents of Matilda. Whilst Henry referred to Matilda as his son, Olivia flirted with flashy dance teacher Rudolfo, played very amusingly by Eesah. George played the dim son Michael while Henry’s second- hand car dealings to the menacing Russians were led by Wilf and his brooding henchmen.
The scenes with Matilda telling the ever-attentive librarian (Freya) were well played by all the actors, as the background story to Miss Honey and Trunchbull were explained through the tale of escapologist Oscar and acrobat Rosie.
Tim Minchin’s wonderful, but sometimes very tricky, songs were perfectly coached by the superbly talented Mr Dunham who ensured that all the words were audible and the singing was together. Mr Hiles and Mrs Symons provided endless behind-the-scenes preparation for the spectacular set design and scenery. Huge cubes doubled as support for chorus members and letters neatly spelling various scene- relevant words. A blackboard magically displayed the truth about Trunchbull’s inheritance of the school-house. A cup mysteriously moved across a desk under Matilda’s telekinetic powers. Stage-managing all this (with Mr Hiles also helping) was Mr Smith and his slick team of Darcy, Aidan, Kenneth, Jack, Mr Myres and Mr Huxtable. Lighting was smoothly provided by Mrs Beer, John and Harry, whilst Mrs Bennett- Tomlin ensured that sound and radio-mics worked seamlessly.
This was another of Mrs Eynon’s productions of exceptionally high quality and ripping entertainment. All Year 7s and 8s took part on or off stage and excellent audiences hugely enjoyed all three performances.
Saturday Discover Programme
Our programme through the Spring term was as successful and well- attended as ever. Some personal highlights were hearing about the Clay Pigeon shooting team attending their first inter-school event, seeing chicken eggs being sold and observing children from across the whole prep school using sign language.
We are excited to share the Summer term programme with you! The activities on offer continue to open-up to a wider range of age groups, which will ultimately allow everyone to work with a greater variety of pupils during each activity. The latest range of options have been put together to make the most of the warmer weather, as well as our grounds and local facilities. On this note, if you would like your child to participate in the Sailing or Golf activities, please read the information in our new programme and contact Mr Bennett-Tomlin directly, as soon as possible on matt.bennett-tomlin@abberleyhall.co.uk These activities occur off- site, they are paid for separately and places are extremely limited! Please note that the programme outlined in the latest document will run for the whole term and will not change at half term.
At the end of the Summer term, we will be awarding our first ever Discover Awards. Every pupil’s current progress is displayed on the Discover Board, at school, and I look forward to awarding the various awards at the end of term.
Clay-Pigeon Shooting
The Year 6 Shooting team enjoyed their first experience of a competitive shooting event at the prestigious Holland and Holland Shooting ground. The junior section ranged from Year 6’s to Year 8’s and was an extremely challenging layout for the boys. 80 shots started to take their toll, as did some very high and quick birds, but the boys did exceptionally well and never let their heads down as they went from stand to stand. The group were paired up with Mr Bedford’s old team from All Hallows, all Year 8’s now, and managed to shoot just as well. The day was always about the experience as this team looks ahead to being contenders in the 2024 junior event and the forthcoming IAPS contest. A baptism by fire that will undoubtedly hold them in good stead for IAPS, which will have a much more balanced spread and be tailored more to their age and ability.