School Production - Trojan Women

It was with slight trepidation that the cast, comprising Year 9, 10 and 11 pupils, approached Euripides’ epic ‘The Trojan Women’. It is fair to say that the first few rehearsals contained much scratching of heads, raising of eyebrows and more than the occasional mispronunciation. However, putting aside the initial feelings of wariness, the cast rose to the occasion with real aplomb as, for one week, the Springfield drama studio was transformed into a busy Trojan beach, sitting on the doorstep of a ransacked Troy.

‘The Trojan Women’ is not a happy play. The looks on some of the faces as the audience left the auditorium stands as a testament to this; and also as a testament to what a very good production they had just seen. Much of the praise goes to the cast: Mia Finnigan as Hecuba; Dave Mills as Talthybius; Natasha Coote as Cassandra; Megan Rae Mullins as Andromache; Jessica Manns as Helen of Troy; Jason Barnes as Menelaus; James Burnham and Harry Palmer as the Greek soldiers and Nadia Warr and Megan Griffiths as the Trojan women. Each member of the cast delivered a stirring performance, perfectly depicting the raw emotion of Euripides’ play to enable the audience to relate to the plight of poor Hecuba as she sees her land destroyed and many of her offspring slain. Much thanks and praise must also go to the members of the BTEC crew, whose indefatigable work ensured everything went smoothly including the set design, lighting and sound.

Big thanks must also go to Mr Rowland, Mrs McAlister, Mr Wilson and the caretaking team, as well as Mr Cunningham and Mr Tremlett, who helped us put up the telegraph pole in the studio! No-one is quite sure where Mr Cunningham managed to procure the pole; perhaps there’s a street in Drayton somewhere without a landline!

Luke Atiyah – Director