Powerful and demanding drama at St Edmund’s Canterbury

24 Jan 2019

The ensemble of 10 actors received a standing ovation on the last night of the St Edmund’s School production of J. B. Priestley’s Time and the Conways.

The appreciative audience included Karen Goaman, J.B. Priestley’s granddaughter, and Luke Goaman-Dodson, his great grandson.  Mr Goaman-Dodson commented, “I was extremely impressed with Mark Sell’s production of Time and the Conways. The quality and scale of the play were far beyond what one would normally expect from a school play. The young cast were superb, and proved adept at portraying characters much older than their own years.”

This was a powerful and demanding drama and in spite of the wonderful attention to period detail in the setting and costumes, the stage, ultimately, left its players nowhere to hide.  The dialogue and its delivery were all the cast had to sustain the audience’s attention.

It was a stunning production and testament to Director of Drama Mark Sell’s vision, not to mention the faith he invested in his actors, that the drama’s technical demands – ageing the cast twenty years between Acts I and II, then rejuvenating it between II and III – and the mature theatrical sensitivity required of the pupils was hardly noticeable.  It was accomplished without strain and to the highest of professional standards.  It came off so smoothly, so vividly, that the audience knew it was witness to something very rare and very special.  To read the full review, please go to www.stedmunds.org.uk.

St Edmund’s School has an enviable reputation for Performing Arts and is fortunate to have such a talented and experienced team in the Drama department, including a former RADA coach. To find out about drama scholarships and opportunities please call 01227 475601 or see the website www.stedmunds.org.uk.

 

Picture caption: The Conway siblings (Milly Sherwin, Seb Coleman, Rebecca Roberts, Ellisa Walker-Reid)  in happy times