The Nothing Show

The next performance in the Bradon Forest Theatre is The Nothing Show.

A selection of year 9 students are taking part in an afternoon workshop with the company, followed by an invitation only performance.

The Nothing Show is a one man show, a clown character takes us on a hilarious tour of his world, a world very similar to us all. Things then start to go very wrong and it seems there is nothing he can do but despair. But out of the ruins the clown triumphs and begins a new life. Stewart comes on stage with nothing, no props, no set, no lighting clues. The audience has to imagine everything themselves. By the end of the show they'll be intimate with this man's life - that's the beauty of Stew's performance.

Wednesday 14th May - 7.30pm

Guest Review - Elliot Kinsey Watches Sketch

Elliot Kinsey, Yr10, writes:

Brave to Alice Chalk and the cast of Sketch, what an amazing show! Everything was brilliant especially the character Mr Wilson, played by Jacob Moore, a trule funny young man and the perfect person to play the part. But least we forget the other cast members that also added an extreme comic value to the show. Well done to all!

Sketch is a good play about Mr Wilson and his memories, some are good, some are sad but either way Mr Wilson never forgets them and we see only his best and tragic memories performed on the stage by an amazing young cast. We soon realise that not many people close to Mr Wilson stay with him that long, but that still doesn't stop him from remembering them. Scenes such as the 'interview' and 'broken' were the two best scenes for me because they were pure wit and hilarious. I also realised that most of the audience, including Mr Spiers (our headteacher) were in stitches of laughter before the main part of the play had kicked in!

I particularly liked the ending to the play as well, when Mr Wilson dances with his future wife. I think it was clever how Alice added a younger Mr Wilson, played by Harley Viveash, so that the older Mr Wilson could look back towards the action of stage as if he was reliving his memory.

Once again I wold like to tell you how fascinating it is when you think that this production was not created by a professional company, but by a young girl in Year 11 called Alice Chalk. I think it would be hard not to realise that this girl has the purest, raw talent within her to create such a brilliantly produced play with a help from her fathers imagination, David Chalk, who co-wrote the play. I would like to thank and the cast for such a funny and breathtaking play.

Oh, and before I forget, I would recommend anyone to see this play if it ever goes on tour... which is not hard to imagine as it was so great!

For other Elliot Kinsey reviews, click here.

Sketch Photos Now Online

Sketch photos are now online on the school theatre pages and also on Flickr. If you're able to make it to the show tonight or tomorrow, don't forget to reserve your tickets by calling me on 01793 773981.

It was an absolute gem of a show. It was actually hard to believe that it was written, directed and performed entirely by students with no help from staff at all. I can tell you one thing, it gives some of the professional shows I've seen a run for their money! A review from Elliot will be in just after the two week break and I'll post it as soon as it's in.

Opening Night Tonight, Sketch!

The world premiere of Sketch, written and directed by Yr11 student Alice Chalk, opens tonight in the Bradon Forest Theatre...

Tickets are £4 adults and £3 students. To reserve yours call 01793 773981. The show starts at 7.30pm.

Any Dream Will Do?

I don't know how many of you enjoy watching the mind-numbing 'talent' shows that the BBC are now airing repeatedly, to promote Lloyd Webber's West End shows and line his pockets even more, but here's what Kevin Spacey has to say:

Spacey said it was great that people were getting interested in the West End but that the BBC should broadcast a series about the theatre "to help kids find their own sense of self-esteem, confidence and ability to collaborate. These are interesting ideas, now they're not sexy so maybe they don't want to put them on air.

Read the rest of the article and let me know what you think about his comments.

A Users Guide to Theatre Brochures

I spotted this article on the Guardian Arts Blog and thought it was relevant! Points for me to remember:

• Make sure that the booking information and details are clear and easy to find.
• Include professional companies websites.
• The brochure should be memorable so that people are more likely to keep it to hand.

I'll keep you up to date with the progress!

Fanzines

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!

Sketch

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.

The future of British theatre lies in Bristol

The future of British theatre lies in Bristol. - Guardian Unlimited Blog

Guest Review - Elliot Kinsey Watches Gonzo Moose

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

And Finally...
Well I think that's enough from me, but don't just read this and think 'oh yeah, it sounds OK'... get out there and see it wherever it is being shown. It is seriously that good and is definitely worth the price of a ticket. Thank you so much to the actors that performed for us that night. You were fabulous and extremely funny. I can see now why you show was back at Bradon Forest by popular demand! Also, thank you to everyone who advised me to go and see the show, you were right! And last, but not least, Jenni... thank you so much for letting me do this review for you. It's the first I've done and hopefully there's more to come!

No, thank you Elliot! Great review and I'll hold you to that promise of more :o)