Page 12 - The Badger - Issue 8

THE BADGER Celebrating 125 Years of The Downs
Creative Arts continued... Drama
Drama at The Downs Malvern continues to thrive with a bumper year of musicals: Matilda for the seniors and Pantastic for the juniors. What a year we have had!
Iwas thrilled to join in November, crashing into an intense rehearsal period for Matilda. We feel lucky to have had such a talented cast to work with, and our
Year 6, 7 and 8 pupils stunned their audiences with some brilliant ensemble numbers. Our principal actors showed they can handle West End material and pull it off. Simon Mellor’s set was characteristically impressive, conjuring multiple locations within an abstract library backdrop, to allow our production fluidity and pace.
As we don’t like to rest on our laurels, rehearsals for the junior musical began alongside Matilda. Our young cast flexing surprisingly mature acting muscles to thrill us with two truly magical performances of Pantastic, complete with puppetry, lanterns and twinkling stars. There were tears and laughter in equal measure.
Following shortly afterwards, our 30 plus LAMDA students from Year 3 up to Year 8 put on an hilarious, riotous Showcase with a hugely diverse range of scripted and devised work all based around the theme of The Future. The camaraderie created amongst the cast, and the wonderfully supportive atmosphere in the audience made for a unique and special evening.
Sally Whitaker
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