Edwalton Primary School children’s latest performance has once again wowed parents with their atmospheric interpretation of The Tempest.
Maple Class Teacher and ICT Lead at the school is Danny Thompson who said that children looked forward to the opportunity of putting on a show. “We wanted this year to be special for the children because we have not been able to put on a play in front of an audience since 2019.
“The children have been amazing learning all of their lines and the singing has been unbelievable. We didn’t start practising until 3 weeks ago, and any West End production would be proud to do Shakespeare in such as short space of time!
“In addition, we are so lucky to have the most amazing outdoor stage backdrop in front of our mature woodland, adding ambience to the performance.”
Year 5 pupil Laura played Miranda and said, “Learning the lines was really tricky because I had to learn over 40 sets of lines and then practise acting them. The role was fun but a little bit embarrassing because I had to pretend to fancy Ferdinand!”
Year 5 pupil Sara played Ariel and said, “I found it fairly easy to learn my lines at home but then it was tricky when we had to act on the stage and put them all together. Before the show I was nervous but also excited because it the first time I had done an outdoor performance.”
Year 5 pupil Mateo played Stephano and explained that children made their own costumes, “It was great fun getting creative making our own tie-dyed t-shirts and making all of the props. I especially liked making the Papier Mache wine bottle for one of my scenes.
“This has been a fantastic experience for us all,” Mateo said, “and everyone has been able to play their part to make this a memorable play. Everyone was so supportive from our teachers and teaching assistants to our classmates and other children in school. We had a great dress rehearsal in school before we performed to parents.”
Year 5 pupil Sofia played Prospero and said, “I enjoyed learning my lines. I was careful to make time to read through them at home. I am wearing a good costume too, with a long green sweeping cloak of velvet. I also have a staff which we found in our school woodland.”
Laura Clark is Cedar Class Teacher and Spanish Lead at the school, and she said children’s hard work paid off. “Our performers did so well and managed to put on a stellar performance despite the short space of time we had to rehearse. We are so proud of how they brought the performance to life!”
Anthony Thomas is Head Teacher at the school and said that he was proud of the children’s efforts. “The children performing Shakespeare in our amazing outdoor settings was a truly memorable experience. The parents loved watching their children sparkle on stage and were able to enjoy the fruits of their hard work in a relaxing setting with picnics, and even joined in the fun as children danced through the audience during the performance. Our performances are always a highlight, and we want to thank the children and teachers for such a wonderful effort, and once again to our families who are so supportive of the school. We are so truly proud of the children.”
