This year’s production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, which played to packed houses, was simply outstanding. The cast which included students from all year groups delivered two performances of the smash hit musical by Alan Menken, Howard Ashman and Tim Rice.
The lead roles, Belle and The Beast were played by Anna, Y9 and Scott, Y11 (below). Both delivered moving performances especially with their solos Home and If I Can’t Love Her.
They were supported by an extremely strong cast of talented principals. The dastardly Gaston and his sidekick Lefou (played brilliantly by Carl and Zach, Year 11) were joined by Noah, Year 9, who gave a great performance as the sinister Monsieur D’arque.
The Beast’s enchanted household of Lumiere (George, Year 8), Cogsworth (Ewan, Year 10), the superb Madame De La Grande Bouche (Aimee, Year 8), Babette (Caitlin, Year 9) and Chip (Emily, Year 8), delighted audiences with their humorous interpretation of the roles. The title song Beauty and the Beast was beautifully performed by Ellie (Year 8), who gave a wonderful performance as Mrs Potts. Other high quality performances were given by Luke (Year 8) as Belle’s father and Bryony (Year 10) who delivered an atmospheric introduction to the story as the Narrator.
The show was underpinned by a superb chorus who performed musically challenging set pieces such as Be Our Guest combined with polished choreography and excellent characterisation. The hours of work students had put in to create the show certainly paid off with standing ovations on both nights.
“The show was fantastic, everyone involved was amazing – they all did an incredible job.” Nick Coleman (visiting sound technician)
As always the project brought together a wide range of disciplines in the arts and was supported by a large team of staff. The core production team, Mr Codling, Mr Allan, Miss Dunford, Miss Shaw and Mrs Allen would like to thank the many students and staff who were involved in creating this fantastic five-star performance.
Well done!
Music Department 