Terry Pratchett's Wyrd Sisters
Thu, 6 Aug 2009, 08:17 amGordon the Optom2 posts in thread
Terry Pratchett's Wyrd Sisters
Thu, 6 Aug 2009, 08:17 am'The Wyrd Sisters' was adapted for the stage, from Terry Pratchett's sixth Discworld novel, by Stephen Briggs - an Oxford civil servant, who dabbles in amateur dramatics. It is presented by the Swan View Senior High School drama group. Entry to the 80-seat theatre is via the gym off Weld Road. Shows nightly at 7.30 pm, until this Saturday 8th August.
The fictional setting for all of Terry Pratchett's fantasy novels, is Discworld, which is a convex disc resting on the backs of four elephants, which in turn are standing on the back of a turtle,
To a burst of thunder, three witches - Granny Weatherwax (Caitlin Morey – superb), Nanny Ogg (Scott Bell – good on ya) and Magrat Garlick (Olivia Middleton - fantastic) - who haven’t many brain cells between them are struggling to be super witches.
King Verence (Dion Wright) of Lancre is murdered by Leonel Felmet (Brad Green – very good) and his wife, Lady Felmet (Sajel Dunlop – powerful acting). An escaping servant gives the King’s crown and baby to the three witches. The witches give the child, Tomjon, to a troupe of travelling actors.
The neurotic Leonel being kept happy, and positive, by his Fool (Jake Middleton - hilarious). Then there is the devilish Demon (Maddison Kensitt) to deal with.
In the years ahead, can Tomjon (Liam Pegler) possibly regain his rightful position as King?
The greatest challenge with staging ‘The Wyrd Sisters’ is to ensure that the production is funny and creepy. All of Terry Pratchett's works have a brilliant, dry humour about them. In this production, Pratchett has delivered a blend of ‘The Scottish Play’, a ham theatre company who are putting on a drama about witches, and a pantomime.
The actors ages range from 13 to 18, with only 20% of the cast ever having been on a stage before. Under the skilled guidance of directors Kate Rogers and Roisin Bevan, the entire cast gave it their ‘all’. The vast majority of the players captured the fun aspect of the script. Jake, having only been given the stand-in part three hours earlier, was a perfect ‘fool’ creating some good belly laughs.
Due to a limited school budget, the available lighting equipment was very restricted, but along with an excellent sound design, and good tech operations (Lizzie Parsons and Renee Offer) the crew gave a most satisfactory result. The set was skillfully painted and constructed, and with a veritable army of stage crew the scene changes quick, quiet and efficient. Wonderful costumes from Ryan James and Kate Rogers.
The audience loved it, and the so did the cast who have discovered for themselves the magic of theatre. A competent, good little pantomime for over 7 yrs olds. Well done.
'The Wyrd Sisters' was adapted for the stage, from Terry Pratchett's sixth Discworld novel, by Stephen Briggs - an Oxford civil servant, who dabbles in amateur dramatics. It is presented by the Swan View Senior High School drama group. Entry to the 80-seat theatre is via the gym off Weld Road. Shows nightly at 7.30 pm, until this Saturday 8th August.
The fictional setting for all of Terry Pratchett's fantasy novels, is Discworld, which is a convex disc resting on the backs of four elephants, which in turn are standing on the back of a turtle,
To a burst of thunder, three witches - Granny Weatherwax (Caitlin Morey – superb), Nanny Ogg (Scott Bell – good on ya) and Magrat Garlick (Olivia Middleton - fantastic) - who haven’t many brain cells between them are struggling to be super witches.
King Verence (Dion Wright) of Lancre is murdered by Leonel Felmet (Brad Green – very good) and his wife, Lady Felmet (Sajel Dunlop – powerful acting). An escaping servant gives the King’s crown and baby to the three witches. The witches give the child, Tomjon, to a troupe of travelling actors.
The neurotic Leonel being kept happy, and positive, by his Fool (Jake Middleton - hilarious). Then there is the devilish Demon (Maddison Kensitt) to deal with.
In the years ahead, can Tomjon (Liam Pegler) possibly regain his rightful position as King?
The greatest challenge with staging ‘The Wyrd Sisters’ is to ensure that the production is funny and creepy. All of Terry Pratchett's works have a brilliant, dry humour about them. In this production, Pratchett has delivered a blend of ‘The Scottish Play’, a ham theatre company who are putting on a drama about witches, and a pantomime.
The actors ages range from 13 to 18, with only 20% of the cast ever having been on a stage before. Under the skilled guidance of directors Kate Rogers and Roisin Bevan, the entire cast gave it their ‘all’. The vast majority of the players captured the fun aspect of the script. Jake, having only been given the stand-in part three hours earlier, was a perfect ‘fool’ creating some good belly laughs.
Due to a limited school budget, the available lighting equipment was very restricted, but along with an excellent sound design, and good tech operations (Lizzie Parsons and Renee Offer) the crew gave a most satisfactory result. The set was skillfully painted and constructed, and with a veritable army of stage crew the scene changes quick, quiet and efficient. Wonderful costumes from Ryan James and Kate Rogers.
The audience loved it, and the so did the cast who have discovered for themselves the magic of theatre. A competent, good little pantomime for over 7 yrs olds. Well done.
More Terry Pratchett to come