The Year 11 and Year 10 GCSE Drama students had a thrilling time on Wednesday night at The Richmond Theatre watching the hugely successful theatrical show The Woman in Black. The students even got to meet and talk to one of the actors after the show!
The play opens on an empty Victorian Theatre with the character of ‘Arthur Kipps’, a retired Solicitor, and a ‘young actor’. Mr Kipps ghostly experiences from his younger years are still haunting him and he therefore recounts his experiences to an actor, by reading from his manuscript, in a desperate attempt to exorcise the ghosts of the past. The play then unfolds as the two men act out the solicitor’s eerie experiences all those years ago…
The play, adapted for the stage by Stephen Mallatratt, from the Gothic book by Susan Hill, is the second- longest non-musical show running in the West End’s history. The success of the show can be put down to its immersive storytelling style, impressive stage craft and the huge strength of the two actors, who multi-role several characters convincingly.
The GCSE students will now learn in lessons how to structure and write a live theatre review of the Woman in Black in preparation for their mock and GCSE exams. The Drama Department will run an after-school focus session this Friday to especially support Year 11 in their writing ahead of their Drama GCSE mock exam this December.
