Drama at the Junior School

“The most valuable asset a nation has is the creativity of its children.” Alan Plater, Playwright

At St Mary’s Junior School, we hold Plater's ideal close to our hearts through our drama productions. Every child in the school is given the chance to perform in a production and to have a speaking role. Having the opportunity to develop the skill of practising lines is vital so that they are performed with clarity and confidence.

Aiming high with Shakespeare

High Performance Learning means that all girls can aim high and we do not shy away from challenging them in Drama. Every Summer Term, Years 5 and 6 perform a musical Shakespearian production. For some, this is their first experience of reading Shakespeare, but with practise and perseverance comes confidence. 

We present our very own St Mary’s Cambridge Shakespeare Festival in our school gardens. 2019 saw the production of Antony and Cleopatra performed over two evenings. The Year 6 girls’ performances were outstanding and very moving. Girls in Year 5 took on the roles of Egyptians and Romans as well as the choir, singing their hearts out. The school balcony, which always has a starring role, was a fitting monument, where Cleopatra dramatically sang to Antony as he lay dying.

"Family and friends of both year groups were bowled over by the mature and confident performances of the whole cast."

A fresh take on the Nativity story

Girls in Pre-prep performed their Christmas production, based around the nativity story, incorporating music, dance and of course beautiful acting by all the girls from Reception to Year 2. The girls were involved in the creation of the playscript, using their imagination and contributing their ideas. This year it also incorporated the story of The Owl and the Pussycat, and included a very strong environmental message to create a fresh and relevant version of the traditional story. 

Nativity Performance Gallery

Wind in the Willows

Our Spring Term production involves the collaboration of all the girls in Years 3 and 4. They were given the opportunity to show off their acting and singing skills in a performance of The Wind in the Willows, and their team spirit and empathetic skills were put to the test.

The girls learnt that no matter what part you play it will be crucial to the performance. Working together they relied on each other for their cues and prompts, and the chorus needed to be following each scene in readiness for the songs and their actions.

Such performances require rote learning skills to memorise their lines, teamwork, perseverance and confidence. All their hard work paid off and they performed with obvious enjoyment in front of the girls in the Junior School as well as their parents, grandparents and siblings. 

Wind in the Willows Performance Gallery

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