Drama at the Junior School

Our Summer Shakespeare production looked very doubtful owing to the national lockdown of 2020 and schools being closed. In fact, the Year 6 girls were so convinced they wouldn’t get to perform in a Shakespeare play, they put on a Zoom production of Macbeth with the help of their parents.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

However, as luck would have it, Year 6 were allowed back in school after May half term and within 4 weeks of relentless dedication, they put on an outstanding version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream which was filmed professionally for them to watch with their families,

The production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream was a fantastic achievement for the group of 37 Year 6 girls who all had speaking roles and learnt their Shakespearian lines by heart. Their enthusiasm and dedication shone through, as they provided their own costumes and props. They performed beautifully and were able to deliver both the romantic and comedic elements perfectly. The woods in the Junior School garden provided the perfect backdrop and they were lucky enough to have a small socially distanced audience of key worker children for their dress rehearsal. The girls and their teachers were delighted with their performance and were so proud of their achievement.

Pre-Prep Nativity

The Junior School gardens also played a key role in the Pre-Prep Nativity play this year, as much of it was filmed outside. Year 2 decided on the focus for the play and they wanted it to centre around a Christmas tree, to be set in a garden and also to include the Christmas tree from the story of the Nutcracker. Snowdrops too had to play a part. The story starts in a garden at Christmas with gardeners and garden angels who look after the garden and carol singers who have come to find a Christmas tree. The tree is brought in for Christmas and the children excitedly peer through the keyhole waiting to see the decorated tree. One little girl sadly anticipates the demise of the tree. The angels tell her the nativity story and how a tree, although very old, helps everyone on their way to Bethlehem. The production was beautifully acted by all of the Pre-Prep children and expertly filmed and edited by Mr Severy.

Expressing HPL values

Our HPL values, attitudes and attributes were clear to see in all the girls who performed in our drama productions this year. They have shown outstanding resilience and tenacity, rehearsing and performing outside in the school grounds despite cold temperatures. Their patience and perseverance in learning their lines were plain to see as the girls delivered faultless performances and were not put off by cameras or lighting – something new for them. It was lovely to see the girls, whatever their age, support each other and perform confidently. They thoroughly enjoyed taking part in their Drama productions and were able to adjust to anything that challenged them, as HPL teaches them.

Their patience and perseverance in learning their lines were plain to see as the girls delivered faultless performances and were not put off by cameras or lighting – something new for them.

Through the drama productions of 2020, the Junior School girls have demonstrated that they can work with anything that life throws at them.

‘Yes, she can!’ is not just something that is said hollowly, it is at the heart of the school and self-belief is encouraged in all girls from Reception through to Year 6. We can truly say that this self-belief shows that the girls at the Junior School can do more than say,‘The show must go on!’ They prove it too.

Mrs Cliff

Return to Magnolian 2021