I spotted this article on the Guardian Arts Blog and thought it was relevant! Points for me to remember:
Does anyone remember the fanzine? Being an 80's girl I vaguely remember them, and I think even have recollections of making a one off issue for Bros...
Well, the reason I bring it up is because I'm working on ideas for the next season's brochure for the theatre. The first year I was at Bradon I slightly re-jigged the old brochure format to mimic pages from an exercise book. Then I added all the events to a digital pinboard here and here. I liked the way that the promotion of the professional theatre still strongly linked back to school, as a lot of the productions are put on by the students as well as professional companies.
I'm now thinking that the fanzine style is the way to go for the next season and have been doing a bit of research. I'd love to include original artwork on a few of the pages so have posted a competition on the school website. If you're a Bradon Forest Student and have some sketches you'd like to enter a piece (or pieces) for consideration then email me or come and see me in the arts office!
Alice Chalk, now in her final year at Bradon Forest, directs Sketch, a play created by her and her father. After the success of The Three Musketeers and The Importance of Being Earnest, Chalk has already proven her directorial skills. Make sure you don't miss her scripting début!
April 1st, 2nd & 3rd
7.30pm
Tickets £4 adults, £3 students.
After a few technical hitches, here's a great review of Gonzo Moose by Yr10 student, Elliot Kinsey. After all, You Don't Need To Know That;
Where do I start?
Gonzo Moose's 'You Don't Need To Know That' was absolutely brilliant. The characters, the set and the entire story were funny, well thought out and hilarious. All in all this show was superb and with the help of Rondo Theatre, Gonxo Moose have produced another great slap-stick show. The show, a comedy of human survival in the face of absurdity, is all based around one man, Beresford Jones, who is having a very bad day indeed. He is arrested and not told why and throughout the story must negotiate with torture mad policemen, pop singing lawyers an crazy, over-zealous librarians. His aims are to win his freedom, avoid his death at the hands of the deadly guillotine and last, but not least, win the girl.
Where Do I Come In?
I first heard of Gonzo Moose in my earlier school years at Bradon Forest when I went to see 'I Am A Viking', another exceptionally funny show. When I was told about 'You Don't Need to Know That' I was told it would be one of the funniest plays I would ever see in my life. I couldn't take someone else's word for it, I had to see it for myself to see if it was as good as they said.
On the night of the 5th February, I grabbed my tickets, settled down into one of Bradon Forest Theatre's many comfy chairs and tried to relax as I began to gaze and laugh at the sheer madness commencing through the show. What a rib ache! I was in fits of tears quite literally all the way through and found myself on the edge of my seat, wanting to know what funny action was about to happen next. That was the great thing that made this play the best for me; it was all comedy, just what I like... is there anything more you need in life?
The actors in that production had made the show one of the best comedies I have ever seen in my life... no joke! I too was also included in the play (aren't I great?!); Beresford Jones interacted with me and many of the other audience members, even including them in the dialogue and making the fatal cut throat signs at them. This made the show even better because you could see everyone, including the actors, were really enjoying themselves.
The set was a load of filing cabinets and this helped the audience pick up what kind of space the characters were in, be it an office, court room or library. Along with the comedy, this is also another thing that helped the show 'click'. It helped me understand where all this was happening and I thought it was a very good idea how they made them act as doors as well as actual filing cabinets.
What They Liked About It!
The audience's response was rather much like my own; most people were red in the face, hot under the collar and all nearly died of laughter. I asked two people what they thought of it:
Comedy has never been done this way before, the facial impressions were brilliant! Sarah Jane
I loved how they got everyone involved during one scene when they had to improvise. What a great show! - Sam
