Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96After we visited the Roaring Twenties with December’s ‘The Great Gatsby’, we thought… what next? Well, roaring lions, of course! Thus, I began to collaborate with Musical Director Dr Coull to transport the heat of the savannah to the Henry’s Drama Studio. Our 29th June – 1st July run certainly delivered on the heat front, with our dedicated cast surviving the humid evenings in their African animal headdresses, under the meticulously organised stage direction of the wonderful Miss Griffiths! Hot evenings aside, the talented Lower School cast, band and technical team (in the capable hands of David Peters, Jemima Banks and Mr Arnold) brought the house down on each of the three sell-out performance nights. So how do you turn a Drama Studio into Africa? Well, for starters, there are the animals. I am deeply grateful for the exquisite work of Mr Wilkins and Mrs Quinn from the Art Department. Not many schools would be lucky enough to boast such beautiful in-house art work: the show came to life through individually characterised lion and lioness headdresses; a hilarious Pumbaa waist-level mask that Alex Goodwin used to great comic effect; an enormous elephant; stunning giraffes, zebras and leaping gazelles, choreographed beautifully by Mrs Whiteman and Immie Wayne. One of my favourite moments in the play was Young Simba’s desperate run from a stampede of impressively realised wildebeest artwork. Next comes the music: Dr Coull, with the aid of Mr Ross, developed stunning arrangements, doing perfect justice to the blend of classic Disney musical theatre and African rhythms that characterise the musical. Oliver Rolls’ percussion was a pivotal part of the storytelling, with Davina Mistry’s show-stopping, irrepressible Rafiki demanding drums at moments of tension and excitement. It was a pleasure to work alongside Dr Coull, ensuring that music and drama worked together seamlessly to create the full ‘Lion King’ experience. And finally, the acting and the story itself! After the agonising casting decisions, narrowing down our largest ever turnout, we began rehearsals. The cast learnt quickly that they were acting animalistically, not getting on all fours and pretending to be animals. No easy feat! Hamilton Quinn’s feisty, charismatic Young Simba and Ollie Kenyon’s regal Mufasa jumped right in when asked to hunt a gazelle at pretty much their first rehearsal; we shared a lot of laughs as Alex Goodwin learnt to manage his ‘Alex-head’ and his ‘Pumbaa-head’; our capable lions and lionesses must have soon grown sick of the directions ‘more lion-like’ and ‘keep working those shoulder-blades!’. Despite my tendency to interchange the terms ‘Hamilton’, ‘Matthew’ and ‘Simba’, we weren’t sure exactly how to miraculously turn Hamilton Quinn (Young Simba) into Matthew Pandya (Simba). However, with the help of a hugely talented and versatile ensemble, a couple of hand-painted signs, and an impressive entrance, we think we pulled it off! Throw in the quintessentially British villain Scar, played to delightfully evil perfection by Grace Brennan; the deliciously nosy Zazu, played hilariously by Henry Gregory; the faultless comic timing of Holly Slack and Alex Goodwin as Timon and Pumbaa and our hit-with-the-audience trio of hyenas (Adrian Er, Ralph Gawthorpe and Sunil Banga) and we had ourselves a show! However, it wasn’t all comedy. The show boasted some softer, moving moments too: notably Eva Quinn’s haunting solo as Sarabi during ‘The Mourning’ and the classic ‘Can You Feel The Love Tonight’, acted and sung to perfection by Matthew (Simba) and a regal, powerful Taara Doherty (Nala). The musical also featured beautiful solos by Margaret Oshin, Giulia Szubart, Niamh Brennan and Alessandro Pace. An audience favourite was ‘I Just Can’t Wait To Be King’, a lovely trio between Young Simba, Zazu and Young Nala (a spirited, charming Chanelle Mann). So, as a director, I’d say ‘Hakuna Matata’! In a school so full of talent, I have no worries… for the rest of my plays! Miss Spring ‘and so we are all connected in the great circle of life.’ 54 | the Coventrian