Lord Wandsworth College – GREASE IS THE WORD
29 Mar 2019
It has been an incredibly busy few months for some of our pupils as they rehearsed for their production of ‘Grease’, celebrating 40 years of this iconic musical. A fifty strong cast and crew went on to wow their audiences with four shows over three days. They were spectacular performances, packed full of energy, team-work and above all talent.
For many Grease is a timeless classic, full of unforgettable tunes and catchy phrases. We can see ourselves in at least one of the characters; it somehow resonates with us. It is a musical about identity, belonging and dreams and one that was brought to life brilliantly by all those taking part.
It was not without its challenges however as on the evening of the final performance the weather had turned treacherous. As the snow fell thick and fast, the cast and crew had their last minute run through, some having walked in to LWC from Crondall! Like true professionals, they put aside their disappointment that some family and friends were unable to reach them, many stranded in the snow and put on an outstanding final show. The atmosphere was electric with superb support from the audience which saw them all dancing in the aisles along with the cast to ‘Greased Lightin’ and ‘We go Together’ with plenty of ‘chang chang changitty chang sha-bop’ and ‘yippity boom de boom’ to go with it!
Mrs Vic Allan, our Head of Performing Arts, commented, ‘the show was such a special experience. We had a full cast, however we only had half a band and 50% of the tech crew but the show went on! It was just amazing!’
Our Musical Director, Ms Lauren Griffin said, ‘it’s been a pleasure to work with the cast on Grease, and all our efforts over the past few months came alive. A truly memorable, rewarding experience for all those involved, and a proud moment for Performing Arts at LWC.’
Band members included Alex Canadine on guitar, Lizzie Kirk and past pupil Alex Good on sax, Charles Withall on bass, our very own Mr Parker on drums and Ms Griffin on piano.
It really was LWC community spirit at its finest and an incredible event not to be forgotten. Thanks to our wonderful house parents who kindly hosted some of our stranded guests overnight in the boarding houses.
Photography credit: Seb Allan