Dance, Sketches and Shakespeare - Exetera!
Middle School Revue
The evenings of 6 and 7 February saw two very energetic and stimulating performances of Exetera! There really was something for everyone, performed by a huge cast drawn mainly from Years 7 to 10. The first half consisted of a colourful and fast-moving set of circus-themed pieces, written by Mr Graham Strugnell and ably compered by ringmasters Richard Robbins and Charles Pidgeon from the sixth form. 
The six thought-provoking and elegantly crafted scenes invited us to witness the world views of various members of the troupe: tigers and tamers, a tame multi-headed jabberwock, some philosophical clowns, who struggled to find suitably politically correct comic material for modern times, a group of intellectually challenged but muscle-bound strong men, some emotionally taut tightrope artistes and a feisty set of bearded ladies!
The second half featured three separate dance items: the young Street Dance crew, whose work has been developed in Dance Club, the winning House dance item, reprised by Acland House, and a very slick and professional finale of All That Jazz, choreographed and led by Miss Lara Jakes. 
Year 10 members of the GCSE Theatre Studies group provided two polished pieces: an amusing extract from Roald Dahl's Revolting Rhymes and a fast-paced version of Tom Stoppard's Dogg's Hamlet, with a particularly impressive performance from Seb Sutcliffe.
Graham Strugnell scripted and directed two clever re-workings, of Lord of the Flies staged by members of Year 9 and of Earthsea, staged by members of Year 8.
The individual numbers were directed by staff members Lara Jakes, Julia Daybell, Graham Strugnell, and Andrzej and Stephanie Chrupek. The large backroom staff included make-up team of 35 people led by Molly Doyle and an expert technical team directed by Andrzej Chrupek, while Michelle Giles and her team of parents once again produced a set of fantastic costumes.
