STUDENT REPORT
8
T
his
was a spectacular pantomime put on by the
staff at our school. Starring a spectrum of teachers,
including Mrs Smith and Ms Tai, this really was a must–
see performance. From the various different outfits
to the high level acting, anyone who attended would
definitely agree that it was amazing.
Our school pantomime followed suit like all other
pantomimes that you will ever come across. There
was the traditional panto atmosphere which was
responding to the audience and the funny acting,
dancing and singing which was certain to add a smile
to everybody’s face, especially after a long and tiring
day at school. One of the highlights was when all the
teachers started dancing to the YMCA, with all the
actions included.
A pantomime wouldn’t be complete without a twist to
make things more exciting…ours was given a modern
and exciting twist, one to spice things up a little bit.
With constant reminders of the school, we were
never able to forget that we were still in the school.
Reminders included all the different CORT symbols
including the AGO, FIP, CAF and our Six Hat thinking.
A song was even included which related to everything
that the school was active in – this included our bin
rota, school council and our desperation for a dame.
All that was solved with this: all of the actors had
departed the stage and had entered with their backs
towards us. After all the actors who were facing the
audience showed their need for a dame, the rest of
the cast suddenly turned around with a mask of Dame
Helen Hyde! This was one of the key moments as
nobody was expecting this to happen.
Throughout the performance there were lots of witty
one liners which you had to have a beady ear for.
However, there seemed to be one member of the cast
that seemed to make everybody laugh hysterically.
This was Mr Wynne. He was dressed up as a girl with
a blonde wig and a pink scarf. For some reason the
audience were unable to stop laughing and had to be
hushed down by others in the audience.
No pantomime ever ends without a happy ending and
this one would be no different. In the end, a wedding
took place to everybody’s delight. The foolish rats were
in the end defeated and changed their gruesome ways
to fair loving ones. From the witty one liners to the
effort in creating the storyline, the WGGS staff panto
was a truly memorable experience. If something like
this happens again I am sure to go and watch it and to
have a great time.
Dick Whittington
Review
Staff Pantomime
by Lillian Passmore 7E
Little Shop Of Horrors
11th & 12th February 2016
By Emily Quillin 11F & Miss Sutherland
O
n the cusp of the February half-term holiday the
school’s Main Hall was transformed into a stunning
botanical boutique and WGGS temporarily became
home to one of Broadway’s best loved musicals. Little
Shop of Horrors was the result of six months hard work
by girls from all year groups who joined forces with
the new creative team of Miss Sutherland, Miss Uzzell,
Mrs Lewis and Mr Boichat to produce the energetic and
extraordinary sell out show.
Little Shop of Horrors is a rock-horror/comedy musical
about a hapless, amateur experimental botanist
(Seymour Krelborn), who raises a ‘strange and interesting
plant’ such as the world has never seen. After naming
the plant ‘Audrey II’ in honour of his ditzy co-worker
Audrey, Seymour quickly rises to fame alongside the
plant and rapidly draws attention to ‘Mushnik’s Skid Row
Florist’ where he and Audrey work under the thumb of Mr
Mushnik himself. However, it soon becomes apparent that
the moneymaking plant in question happens to have a
very ‘particular’ liking for human blood and (eventually)
flesh, causing Seymour to battle with his morals, emotions
and relations. Ultimately, it is a story not only about what
people will do for love, but also for attention!
The show is set primarily in Skid Row, a fictional location
just outside Los Angeles during the mid-to-late 1950s.
The musical was heavily based on the (low-budget)
1960s production The Little Shop of Horrors with
additional music written by Alan Menken (a lyricist and
musician most commonly known for his work with Disney)
and Howard Ashman. The music itself was inspired by the
classic 1960s rock-and-roll doo-wop music genre, which
led to several hit songs including ‘Skid Row (Downtown)’,
‘Git it’ and ‘Suddenly Seymour’, the latter eliciting
deafening applause on the closing night of our show
when performed so compellingly by Rachael Benjamin
(Seymour) and Emily Quillin (Audrey).
Narrated by a small close harmony group and with a
flexibly sized chorus, Little Shop was the perfect choice
for a school show allowing well over 60 girls to be
involved on the show nights. However,
over the six-month preparation
process the cast and crew worked as
a giant team with pupils and teachers
from a variety of disciplines across the
school. This kind of camaraderie is one
of the great joys of being involved in
whole-school projects of this nature.
All of the staff expressed great pride
in the dedication of the girls involved
and the considerate and gentle way
in which they looked after each other
during the ups and downs of the
preparation period. It was clear that
new friendships had been formed that
would last well beyond the magic of the
show itself. Particular mention should
be made of Mrs King’s superhuman
efforts as wardrobe mistress, single-
handedly sewing a chorus-load of 1950s circle skirts,
and of Mrs Zacharia and her Year 9 ‘Apprentice’ team,
who provided superb refreshments and raised a healthy
sum for charity along the way. Our new sophisticated
sound and lighting system, generously funded by the
Parents’ Association, and new staging purchased thanks
to the kind sponsorship of E. S. Moss Ltd. allowed for the
imaginative thrust staging, whilst Miss Uzzell achieved
nothing short of a miracle in her design and construction of
not one, but two man-eating plants! The result according
to one audience member was ‘a show of a professional
standard to rival the West End!’
This uproarious show with its acerbic songs, endearing
characters and superbly surreal plot line, at once
touching and hilarious, was the perfect celebratory end
to the half term. Congratulations to all involved.
STAFF & STUDENT REPORT
9
