Published on 27/05/21
Our 2021 Year 8 production of Beauty and the Beast feels like a particularly special achievement this year. It has taken a full 18 months to realise from start to finish but despite the unprecedented circumstances and the extraordinary challenges we have faced, we were finally able to complete the project in the last week of April 2021.
Laurence Boswell’s adaptation of Beauty and the Beast is based on the traditional fairytale, however he has added his own take on the magical palace of the Beast. The script offers enormous potential for creative ensemble work and we made the most of this in our production which was very visual and included some fabulous movement sequences, choreographed by the students themselves.
Timeline of production:
- October 2019 - Backstage clubs started working on costumes and props for what was intended as a Year 7 play of Beauty and the Beast.
- November/December 2019 - Auditions took place and the play was cast
- January 2020 - Rehearsals commenced
- March 2020 - Production was cancelled due to school closures
- September 2020 - Cast members were asked if they would like to reboot the project
- January 2021 - Live rehearsals were due to commence and these were moved online due to the third lockdown
- March 2021 - School returned and face-to-face rehearsals resumed
- April 2021 - The production was performed and filmed in its entirety with a closed audience of cast and crew.
As a live audience could not attend, the performance was filmed over two evenings and we have been able to share edited films of Act 1 and Act 2 with parents and with our Year 8 students.
I am delighted to be able to share with you the production showreel which I hope will give you a flavour of the style of the show and the enormous amount of creativity that went into it.