KING’S Ely’s GCSE Drama students visited the Royal Shakespeare Company on January 30th to see the matinee performance of Moliere’s ‘Tartuffe‘ and an evening performance of ‘Timon of Athens‘.

Director of Drama and Theatre at King’s Ely, Nick Huntington, said: “The adaptation of ‘Tartuffe’ by Anil Gupta and Richard Pinto was extremely clever and made so relevant, irreverent and at times poignant. This was theatre at its very best – the pupils were laughing and gasping throughout.

“After the show, the RSC Stage Manager kindly escorted our students over to a private room in which we were treated to a Q&A session with some of the cast, thanks to Mr Pinto. Pupils asked questions about playing comedy and truthfulness in Shakespeare, and were given some invaluable hints and tips in readiness of their own performances in ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ and ‘The Merchant of Venice’, which they are performing in as part of the course later in the term.

“After a cheeky Nando’s, the group then sat down to watch the evening performance of ‘Timon of Athens’, in which the eponymous role was beautifully performed by critically acclaimed actor, Kathryn Hunter. Some of the actors from Tartuffe were present in this comic-tragedy and involved the class brilliantly with a few moments of “breaking the fourth wall.”

“Though it isn’t deemed Shakespeare’s finest work, it did give our pupils the opportunity to watch some fine actors in an unsettling piece of theatre, not unlike the complexity akin to ‘The Merchant of Venice’.

“A brilliant and inspiring day, pupils returned home just past midnight with much to reflect upon for the coming weeks of rehearsals.”

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