Middle School's The Great Gatsby

As soon as audience members stepped into the foyer of the PAC, they were immersed in the era of the 1920’s – an illegal Speakeasy made all the more authentic by the Bootlegging Beverages on offer! The Great Gatsby commenced in this setting of ill-repute, with the magical set design of Mark Wager bringing all of the famed settings of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s best-selling novel to life.

Nathan Bosmans (Year 9) played the charismatic and mysterious Jay Gatsby with confidence and panache, bringing the romantic self-made millionaire who longs for the past to the stage with conviction and style. The all-important narrator of the piece, Nick Carraway, was assuredly brought to life by Raphael Champion (Year 9) who captured the innocent wonder and later disappointment of the character superbly. Jonty Neil (Year 9) played very much against type in launching Tom Buchannan, the womanizing, hard-drinking bully into the glamorous Long Island setting with much authority and control. The Canterbury Girls' female cast was beautifully led by the stunning Madeleine McGregor (Year 8) playing the gorgeous but careless Daisy Buchannan. The ensemble cast all worked together seamlessly to bring raucous scenes of gangsters, parties and general 1920’s debauchery to life.

Penelope Wood

Director, English and Film Teacher

    Senior School's The Alchemist

    Effectively, the simplest way one could sum up The Alchemist is fun. Ridiculous and bawdy fun. You could see it from the audience, from the wings and the screens side stage. Fundamentally a farce, it is a comedy seeking to entertain its audience through highly absurd and exaggerated situations, sequences, and characters. Subsequently, the production quickly became rooted in the cast. The ensemble is what kept the wheel turning and the audience engaged. From the impeccable comedic timings of Fletcher Von Arx (Year 11), as the boisterous Epicure Mammon, and Colin Jiang (Year 11), as the brash housekeeper Lovewitt, to the reactionary, nosy and snooping antics of the countless Neighbours and partygoers, an animated and spirited ensemble was created ready to tackle any insane ideas the Director and Head of Drama, Andrew Stocker, had lurking up his sleeve. 

    After all the excitement, all the energy and the thrill dissipated, all I felt was an overwhelming sense of pride. Pride not only over the fact that we performed one of the most challenging works of Elizabethan fiction to perfection but the fact that I was able to work with such an amazing and inspiring cast, that we were able to see each other grow as actors and have a hell-of-a-lot of fun along the way. 

    Nicholas Sarlos-Welsh 

    Captain of Drama