Robin Hood Production

By Ed Baker
Year 11

This year the Senior School production was that wonderful freestyle of acting that is pantomime.

Students of EISL gathered at the beginning of term to discuss the parts they could play in this show. It turned out that the options were endless: you could be a male playing a male part, a female playing a female part, or the more skilful role of a male playing a female and vice versa. However, this was not enough to make a pantomime really stand out and the unique touch of talking flora was introduced to fulfil this task.

When casting day came around there were tears of joy when Rita Nunn discovered she was at last going to get the title role she had longed for, though I’m sure she did not expect it to be as the handsome manly part of Robin Hood.

Another kind of emotion was in the air as well and, to this day, I am not sure if it was utter embarrassment or just the fear of public humiliation that flowed through me when I heard the words, “I’ve got a good part for you this year, Edward.” To my dismay I was told I would be walking on to the stage clad as an oak tree. Ben Pugsley also suffered some emotional shocks as he discovered he would be the pantomime dame and, to top it off, young Sam would be his husband!

“Robin Hood, The Secret Behind the Green Tights,” was performed on the 6th and 7th of December after months of preparation and rehearsing. A new tactic was employed by our directors in the last few weeks; they began to walk out if the cast did not seem to know what they were doing -- an odd method, I have to admit, but it worked!

Many members of the Sixth Form have finally given in to Mrs. Holland’s constant persuasion over the last two years. Andrew Adamson finally found his true vocation as a master of the stage with an awe-inspiring performance as “Super Hugh,” or The Sheriff of Nottingham, whilst Christina Campbell has been rediscovering her Scottish roots.

After a well-deserved break from our drama work during half-term, we were greeted back by the mention of Sunday rehearsals. A good thing for some, not so much because of the wonderful thought of weekend practice but one simple wonderful word: Pizza. It is, however, a fact that, after our penultimate Sunday rehearsal, I can safely say that unless everyone suddenly gets struck by amnesia then our hard work has paid off. This work, however, would not have been possible without the endless nagging and hard work from our four directors: Mrs. Holland, Mr. & Mrs. Savage, and Mrs. Spencer. Thank you!

As I have mentioned, this was a pantomime and would not have been so without the special guest performance from Friar Tuck. We must also remember that it is not only those on the stage who deserve praise but also those people who slaved away backstage as well! I only hope the 2006 show can live up to this one.