Leighton Park arts - The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Geraint Thomas teels os artistic goings-on at Leighton Park
In February Leighton Park staged its senior production, The Crucible. The language is challenging; the narrative gripping; the location atmospheric; the characters beautifully drawn.
At Leighton Park, we wanted to concentrate on the emotional content of the play. Student actors often find it difficult to come to terms with the complexity of the feelings that the characters display and the emotional ‘journey’ of even the supporting roles.
As we progressed, the students became more and more obsessed with their characters and were very conscious of the fact that they were playing real people.
The performances proved to be very demanding but exceedingly satisfying. The reaction of audiences was gratifying, many saying that the play still had the power to move you at a profound level.
The Crucible requires a cast who are fully committed and prepared to expose their feelings to an audience. We were fortunate to have experienced this with our young people. We feel that the Quaker ethos of Leighton Park contributed to the success of our performance and one of the few smiles in the play was generated by the line: ‘What are we, Quakers! We are not yet Quakers here, John Proctor’.
House Music Competition
Later this term (Spring 2010) we are holding our annual House Music Competition. This is one of the highlights of the school year where all the senior houses put together several musical numbers in a fierce (but very friendly!) competition. All pupils that wish to be involved are, whether it is on stage or behind the scenes. The competition is judged by a panel of professional musicians. Last year the award went to Grove House. We look forward to this year’s spectacular.
World Book Week
In March, Leighton Park School are taking part in World Book Week. We run a host of events aimed at sparking an interest in literature across the whole school. This year some of the highlights are our bookshop, which also raises money for charity, four visiting authors, a fancy dress competition, a book quiz and a sponsored read for Readathon (Roald Dahl foundation and CLIC Sargeant) and the school library at the Bujagali Trust in Uganda.
House Cross-Country Championships
Each year the sporting calendar includes the House Cross-Country Championships. With all the senior houses taking part this is a well attended event both on the course and with other pupils supporting their house members. Last year the overall championship was won by Field House. Sporting activity is strong at Leighton Park were pupils are encouraged to take part and do their best whatever their level of ability.
Geraint Thomas is head of drama at Leighton Park school
