The pupils at St. Francis’ College, Letchworth gave an outstanding performance of the famous novel by C S Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ last weekend. The cast of 50 girls, aged between 11 and 18 years old, gave four performances, two for family and guests, and two for the local community. On Thursday children from local Primary Schools enjoyed the play, while the Saturday matinee thrilled residents of three retirement homes and our local Brownies and Guides.
The production involved teamwork from the whole College, as the school’s theatre was transformed into a Narnian winter wonderland with help from the Art Department and theatre technician. The set even wowed the audience with fake falling snow!
The annual production is a key event in the school’s calendar. “This is my last school production; I have been in one every year and have to say that each year the standard just gets higher” said Head Girl Maria North in Year 13. She continued “It has been great fun playing the evil White Witch and getting to ride in my gorgeous white sleigh. The atmosphere in the theatre was so special when the snow began to fall, we heard the audience gasp in amazement.”
The production was directed by Mrs Charlotte McDermott, Head of Drama. She commented what a wonderful opportunity the play is for the girls from all year groups to work together and that the younger girls really look up to the older girls and learn a lot about acting. Mrs McDermott said “I have really enjoyed directing this production; it is very rewarding to see the girls grow in confidence and develop their skills in projection and performance.”