A Midsummer Night’s Dream - Henrietta Barnett School

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‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ by William Shakespeare

Congratulations to our incredible cast and crew who invited audiences to witness Shakespeare’s delightful comedy of magic, havoc, love and mischief. Through their captivating performances and technical capabilities, this highly energetic and enthusiastic company created a production of which we are immensely proud. We have loved helping you all explore ways to develop and elevate your self- confidence, imagination, teamwork and performance skills. Well done all!

Thank you to those families who came to join our audience, to the PTA, to our caretakers and to the many staff who supported the production. Special thanks to Jean Boal and Richard Cain, whose involvement was instrumental in creating this wonderful opportunity for our students.

The Drama Department

A Midsummer’s Night Dream – a comedy full of twists and turns!

This year’s school production was truly magical! This production was also the first I’ve been to, and it was spectacular. The play follows four lovers: Hermia, Helena, Demetrius and Lysander as they run off into the woods on Midsummer’s Eve. Along the way, they meet some mischievous fairies who wreak havoc, before finally setting things right in the end.

Some of my favourite moments include the acting troupe’s (The Mechanicals) play – The Most Lamentable Comedy and Most Cruel Death of Pyramus and Thisbe. Their over enthusiastic acting and creative way of using props was very funny to watch, and I loved the scene when they presented their play to the wedding guests, where they thoroughly discomforted the guests.

At the heart of the story is the story of the four lovers. As the play says, “the course of true love never did run smooth”, which summarises the entire plot of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. At the start of the play, Hermia elopes with Lysander to escape the Athenian law that dictates she must marry Demetrius or face death. Helena, who knows about their elopement, immediately tells Demetrius, who passionately loves Hermia, this fact. Demetrius immediately pursues Hermia and Lysander along with Helena, who comes with him. It is at this point that the fairies come in and spread mischief among them, and chaos ensues. The actors impressively portray the love and jealousy in a way that was both engaging and comedic.

Overall, a big thank you to everyone involved, including the actors, directors, producer, ensemble, musicians and technical team. The play was brought to life by the hard work of everyone involved, and without them, the play wouldn’t be nearly as magical. I can’t wait to see next year’s production!

Sophie Du Y9

When I found out that the school production would be ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, I immediately knew which part I’d like to audition for. Ever since I saw CBeebies’s production of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ when I was little, Puck stood out as such a mischievous and energetic character that I just knew would be such fun to play – and I was right. Rehearsals have been really enjoyable, and I’ve had so much fun bringing to life the character from the masterful words Shakespeare wrote all those years ago, which themselves are very animated and full of energy. From watching numerous different productions, it amazed me how many different interpretations there are of Puck, some of which I’ve used as inspiration of my own. Reading about the history of a similar Hobgoblin-like figure in English folklore also gave me plenty to think about in terms of characterisation.

I’d like to thank Mrs Whitfield and Mrs Levy for this incredible opportunity – I have loved performing in this brilliant production!

School productions are supposed to be fun, I know, but surely not THIS fun…Knowing this is likely my last school production at HBS, I signed up to audition in the blink of an eye, with my heart set on the role of Bottom the Weaver. He’s the most fun-loving, enthusiastic, hard-working and down-to-earth character, and I knew that I’d have a blast spending so much time with him. Being part of the mechanicals, a group of earnest working folk just trying to put on a play as best as they can, has been beyond priceless. The cast community, the laughter and the dedication, have made this experience unforgettable and I am beyond grateful to have been part of something so magical.

And like a dream beneath a midsummer moon, it’s a moment I’ll carry with me long after the curtain falls – proof that a little bit of theatre can transform the ordinary into something wonderfully enchanted.

This was my first time being part of a school production at HBS, and it is safe to say that it was miles more than I could have ever imagined! Being part of a cast that is so supportive and fun is almost—as cheesy as it sounds—like having another family, although that may have been because a lot of us were actually playing family, or some… twisted version of it! Working together to bring the play to life was a truly enchanting experience in its own right, and massive thanks to Mrs Whitfield, Mrs Levy, Mr Cain, and all the backstage crew for being our very own fairies and ‘magicking’ the play into the sensation you saw on stage!

When I went into Year 9, I thought, “I really want to be in this year’s school production. I don’t care what I am in it, I just want to be a part of it.” Then the auditions came around. Exciting, but nerve wracking. Then the second round: again, slightly unnerving, but even more exciting. Then one day, I saw the sheet. Some way down the list: ENSEMBLE: Krishika.

I was so happy. These past few weeks have been so amazing, and so fun. Working with everyone made me feel like I was part of something huge (which I was!) and I will definitely try out to be in the play again.

After watching ‘The Crucible’ last year, I immediately knew I wanted to participate in the next school production. Being a part of this play has been such a fabulous experience where I have developed my drama skills, improved my teamwork and most of all had so much fun! Egeus has been such an interesting role to dive into and I’ve loved every minute of the rehearsal experience where I have made connections across year groups and slowly pieced together my performance. The production was amazing and we were delighted that so many people came to watch, and witness how our hard work came together into a beautiful play!

This was the first school production for many of us and it has been such an incredible and inspiring experience. We’ve made so many friends in different years, developed our acting skills and had a genuinely amazing time. From the costumes, to the rehearsals, we’ve laughed, performed and even danced to Bruno Mars ! We can’t wait to do it all over again next year. 🙂

After seeing pictures of last year’s production ‘The Crucible’ I really wanted to be in this play. Auditioning for ‘A Midsummers Night’s Dream’ was an incredibly fun and lovely experience . Being part of this play has been amazing and I have loved learning how to improve my drama skills and make friends with different year groups. Being part of something so huge is really cool; such a thrill to share the fruits of our efforts with the audience!

When I auditioned for ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, I really wanted to play a lead role with many lines. However, as a member of the ensemble character, I have still really enjoyed myself. In fact it has been the best experience. Interacting with people in different years used to be very nerve wracking, but now, I am able to do so naturally. All in all, ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ has been a thrilling experience, and I can’t WAIT for next year’s play rehearsals!!!

Playing Oberon in this year’s production has been an experience I will never forget. As a Year 12 student who has always chosen to sit in the audience rather than step onto the stage, I realised this might be my final opportunity to be part of our school show. I am so grateful that I took that step, because the experience far exceeded anything I could have imagined. Taking on the role of Oberon pushed me beyond my comfort zone. This role has opened my eyes to new possibilities within acting and shown me that I am capable of far more than I once thought. I feel incredibly lucky to have shared this journey with such a talented and supportive cast and crew.

I loved helping out with making the poster and the props for ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’! I was really excited to work on our school play, and being an art student, I was really happy with the creative freedom I was given, which allowed me to be imaginative with finding ways to make certain props and designing others. My favourite prop that I worked on was definitely Oberon’s staff, as I really enjoyed shaping it to look like a twisting branch and adding the branches and greenery to make it appear as wild and natural as possible. Making the props has also helped a lot with my organisational and planning skills, as I had to consider how to make time to work on various props across multiple days. It has been so exciting to see how the actors have used them on stage!