English Blog: Shadows and Tall Trees

Rosalie, a pupil in the 12s, explains why she was gripped by the recent dramatisation of William Goldings's Lord of the Flies in the school theatre

It started with a crash: a plane-crash. You might expect it to be gruesome. However, the actors and actresses managed to make it look beautiful, whilst telling the story clearly, using their body language and movement to the music to convey this experience.

In Shadows and Tall Trees (based on the book Lord of the Flies), a group of boys land on a deserted island after a plane crash. The story is a metaphor or an allegory which shows how a group of schoolboys, after getting all of the freedom the island seems to offer, start to abuse all of this power.

Watching this play was gripping from the first minute to the last and had everyone on the edge of their seats. The way the school theatre was turned into a wild island setting was fantastic.. I loved the levels that were created on and around the stage. Lighting, sound and special effects were really professional.

The whole cast gave a hundred percent in their performance. To mention only a few: Phoebe played Jack with an incredible level of energy and connection to the character. Jasper who played Simon was literally throwing himself to the floor. The scene where he was possessed by the pig cannot be described in words. Scarlet, who took the role of Ralph, put on an amazing show and conveyed a great variety of emotions. I found Piggy (Jamie) really funny, from all the points where his glasses were being stolen to his death (falling off spectacularly from the stage). One of the many perfectly synced and played ensemble moments for the cast, was the death of Simon.

I can only imagine the effort and rehearsal time that went into this play. Mr Glen put on another fantastic piece of drama for the Harrodian - one of the best school productions that I’ve seen.

It ended with a boom - that of Mr Lineker's voice. The adults had arrived and it was just as scary as a plane crash.