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The 2025 School Play is the first ever to have been staged in The Robert Dudley Studio – QE’s new facility for drama and the spoken word.

The production of Sophocles’ Oedipus the Tyrant comes some 2,450 years after the date given by some scholars for its first performance in ancient Greece!

The play revolves around King Oedipus’s search for the murderer of his father, Laius, in order to end a plague ravaging the city of Thebes, unaware that the killer he seeks is himself.

Assistant Head (Pupil Involvement) Crispin Bonham-Carter said: “I was concerned that our resident theatre director, Penny Gkritzapi, might have bitten off more than she could chew with her choice of Oedipus the Tyrant for the School Play this year. Oedipus – regarded by Aristotle as the perfect tragedy – tells the awful story of the young prince destined to marry his mother and kill his father… However, we have established a proud tradition of tackling weighty topics, so I was willing to give our junior drama club this challenge. I am very glad to say that it was a triumph! It was also wonderful to see the new studio being put to use for a major School production, with its amazing lighting and sound facilities.”

Mr Bonham-Carter added that the cast of more than 15 young actors had taken the audience through the story with great clarity and moments of tragic intensity. “Year 10’s Namish Thakur was a charming and convincing Oedipus, filling the studio with his agony, as he faces one awful revelation after another.”

The role of Kreon, who succeeds Laius as king, was played by Venkat Ganabathula, of Year 9. “I enjoyed exploring how his character changes throughout the story – from being calm and reasonable to standing up for himself when accused,” he said.  “It was fun to bring out the drama and intensity in his scenes, especially when arguing with Oedipus. I also liked working with students from other year groups and seeing how everyone interpreted their roles. Performing such a famous Greek tragedy helped me build confidence on stage and understand more about storytelling through theatre.”

Mr Bonham-Carter said: “This has been an outstanding year for QE Drama, with no fewer than three School productions – Lions and Tigers, Richard III and Oedipus. Our next production will be something much lighter, I’m glad to say – Shakespeare’s brilliant comedy, Twelfth Night, will be shown in November to get us into the Christmas spirit!”

Here are some further reflections from the cast and crew:

• Vihaan Pal, Year 9: “Being part of the modern rendition of Oedipus was an amazing experience. Working on such a powerful and emotional play really pushed me as an actor, and I loved the challenge. It was interesting bringing a classic Greek tragedy into a modern setting – it made the story feel more real and intense. I learned so much about stage presence, timing, and connecting with the audience. Overall, it was a fantastic experience, and it’s made me even more excited to apply for future QE Drama plays.”
• Arnay Gupta, Year 9: “Acting in Oedipus has been a fabulous experience over the past few months including the rehearsals, the actual play and our behind-the-scenes excursion to the Criterion Theatre. The rehearsals have allowed me to not only meet up with younger and older students, but has also to build my confidence in speaking in front of others. The rehearsals are very beginner-friendly and have allowed me to make new friends in an enjoyable environment.”
• Oliver Song, Year 8: “Taking part in Oedipus was an inspiring experience. The play proved challenging to bring intense emotions from ancient times to a modern performance. It took teamwork, with many suggestions made.”
• Vihaan Sirpa, Year 8: “I enjoyed the rehearsals and the inclusiveness; it was also a great experience; it was fun making new friends and learning more about others. The play itself also turned out well and looked really good. A 10/10 experience!”
• Keeran Sudhakar, Year 9: “This was my first time doing a play this long. At the start, I didn’t really know how we were going to get it all done. However, we did get it done by slowly breaking up the script into different sections. The play gives you the opportunities to speak to other people in different years. Also, the fact that we got to do a trip was good as well.”
• Aydin Mazumdar, Year 8: “Acting in Oedipus was an amazing experience in many ways – an ancient tragedy was a first for me, and it was a thrilling experience to absorb the complexities of Oedipus, from the raw, conflicting emotions at play to the inevitability and tragedy of fate, which once lifted Oedipus, but ultimately led to his downfall. Beyond this, it was amazing being able to work as a team and enjoy the experience with the rest of the crew.”
• Snithik Muthyala, Year 8: “I really enjoyed the play, as every scene kept me hanging on, and even though I acted in it, I still enjoyed it immensely. It explored the themes of fate, suffering and the human condition, shown through powerful speeches and dramatic situations.”
• Nikhil Francine, Year 10: “It was a great experience, and unique because this was my first time tackling an ancient Greek tragedy, and one on the scale of Oedipus.”
• Aaryan Prabhaker, of Year 9: “This play was a thrilling Greek mythology that fused together love and hate, life and death, power and helplessness.”
• Micah Osayande, of Year 8: “I think that taking part in the Oedipus play has really helped me to understand ancient myths better. It was quite hard to do, as being in the 21st Century we may never be able to fully understand Sophocles’ full meaning. However, we were able to work through inference and deduction to create a modern version of a classic. I really enjoyed working with the rest of team and Ms Gritkzapi to put together this play – a wonderful experience, from which I learnt skills of collaboration, organisation and creativity.
• Siddharth Kumar, of Year 9: “Oedipus provided an opportunity not only to witness the tragic downfall of a great king, but to also mingle with so many from the cast. We enjoyed drama games at rehearsals and built our confidence through fun. The actual performance was only a small part of all that the Oedipus cast did and as a stage manager, I enjoyed helping out with the stage design as well as co-ordinating entries and exits during the play.”

The cast of Richard III enjoyed the honour of being the first to put on a drama production in QE’s new Robert Dudley Studio – before attracting a rave review when they repeated their performance at North Finchley’s Artsdepot.

Although the play is one of Shakespeare’s longest, depicting the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of the eponymous king, it was performed as an abridged version for the Shakespeare Schools Festival.

And in line with one of its most famous quotations – “’Tis better, sir, to be brief than tedious” – in its 30-minute form it lost none of its impact. According to theatre and opera director Callie Nestleroth, all the actors, including Year 13’s Robin Bickers in the title role, impressed with the “depth and emotional complexity” they brought to the production.

Callie, who wrote following the ensemble’s Artsdepot appearance, described the performance as “brilliant” and “a joy to watch”. Originally from the USA, she is currently working as a director with numerous organisations, including Opera Holland Park, Streetwise Opera and Royal Academy Opera.

Her 350-word appraisal addressed to the School picked out a number of aspects of the production:

• “Your fresh and inventive take on Richard III. The way you streamlined and modernised the play felt both bold and inspired, breathing new life into a classic text.”
• “The creativity you brought to the battle scene…was a standout moment. Instead of relying on props as weapons, the actors’ physicality and movement became the primary means of establishing threat and violence”
• “The truly collaborative atmosphere. It was evident that you all worked together to bring your vision of the play to life.”
• “The layers within your performances were numerous and intricate. Despite the underlying tension, you managed to bring humour and wit to many moments, making it both gripping and surprising at every turn.”

Stating that she was already looking forward to seeing next year’s QE Shakespeare Schools Festival production, she said: “This was an edgy, nuanced, and poignant Richard III from a professional and creative cast.”

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “The Robert Dudley Studio is a great addition to our facilities here, and it is great to have been able to inaugurate our own drama productions there with such an impressive performance. My congratulations go to all the cast and to colleagues involved in staging this memorable production.”

• Click on the thumbnails below to view the photos.

In a QE first, an entire year group headed off to a West End theatre to watch a Shakespeare production.

The 190 Year 9 boys saw Hollywood A-lister Sigourney Weaver starring in The Tempest at the Theatre Royal, Old Drury Lane.

Their visit came shortly after QE’s Year 12 English Literature students took part in a two-day joint event with The Henrietta Barnett School that included a visit to a performance of Richard II at the Bridge Theatre in Bermondsey. QE has a long-standing partnership with the girls’ school, and this event was designed to stretch pupils of the two schools, giving them a taste of what studying Shakespeare at university might be like.

Head of English Robert Hyland said: “Giving students opportunities to experience live theatre remains a central part of our philosophy as an English department. In particular, given the density of language in Shakespeare’s plays, seeing them performed brings them to life in a way which the classroom simply cannot achieve.

“We were very lucky, therefore, to secure tickets to see two sell-out shows in The Tempest and Richard II. Taking just under 200 Year 9 students to see The Tempest will remain a highlight of the academic year. For many, it will have been their first experience of professional theatre, and one which I hope will last for many years after they leave the School. Even afterwards, I could still hear students around the School and in class discussing features of the performance, which hopefully balanced enjoyment with a richer and deeper understanding of the text.

“Working with our colleagues at Henrietta Barnett allowed us to put on a brilliant day and a half of activities. From a standing start, students became fully acquainted with the characters and themes of the under-appreciated Richard II. It was a treat to see students fully engaging in the dramatic activities, and speaking so knowledgeably about the Bridge Theatre performance.”

The Year 9 boys students studied The Tempest in the Autumn Term, with the trip therefore forming a conclusion to their studies. Sigourney Weaver, the star of films including Alien and Avatar, played Prospero in a Jamie Lloyd Theatre company production. It was, said Mr Hyland, “a rare opportunity for students to see a world-class actor and production company in real life”. Fourteen staff, drawn from all departments, accompanied the pupils.

Asked to write their own reviews, the Year 9 boys were enthusiastic about their visit. Ridit Bhor praised the “wonderful chemistry” shared by the characters, Miranda and Ferdinand, while others praised the set design, described by Pothan Bobba as “nothing short of spectacular” and by Avi Aggarwal as “hauntingly beautiful”.

The two-day Sixth Form event centred around the production of Richard II at the Bridge Theatre production, which starred Jonathan Bailey, of Bridgerton and Wicked fame. In addition to seeing the production, the event involved:

• An introductory lecture on the play from Dr Diana Hallam, A-level specialist and founder of Literary Lectures, which explored the contextual significance of the play;
• A drama workshop from Mandy Dassa (from QE’s drama partners, RM Drama), exploring the play from a practical perspective;
• Seminars exploring key scenes and speeches from the text, led by Mr Hyland and teachers from the girls’ school;
• A tour of the Globe Theatre combined with a drama workshop on Richard II, led by Royal Shakespeare Company and Globe Theatre actor Chu Omambala.

“We wanted to take students away from their exam specification, and help them understand what it might be like to study Shakespeare at a higher level and through different methods than the A-level allows,” said Mr Hyland. “By picking a text they were unfamiliar with, and allowing them to explore it beyond the normal classroom setting, students were able to develop their skills of interpretation and analysis. And by pairing up with our colleagues at HBS, they could also work with new faces, gaining new ideas and original perspectives.

“With the range of activities on offer, from university-style lectures, seminars, drama, and fieldwork, this partnership event really did give a sense of how exciting and varied studying English at a higher level can be.”

Drama features for the first time in the 12th edition of The Arabella – QE’s pupil-run creative magazine.

Drama joins art, music, poetry & other creative writing, politics, science and foreign languages & linguistics as areas covered, with the latest edition focusing on an overall theme of Expression.

The theme has been widely interpreted by the boys. Their hugely diverse contributihassanons range from a poetic exploration by one of the School’s younger pupils, Huy Bui, of the famous opening line of Hamlet’s soliloquy, ‘To be or not to be’, through to a coruscating take on the Democrats’ performance in the recent US election written by another Year 7 pupil, Hassan Omer.

The boys were assisted by a staff team including Library Services Assistant Corinna Illingworth. She said: “The student editorial team have once again produced a high-quality publication. There is surely something to interest everyone in its 54 pages: in exploring the theme of Expression, the boys have expressed themselves creatively and in very diverse ways!”

The magazine is named after Arabella Stuart, fourth in line to the throne, who in 1610 secretly married William Seymore, a descendant of Henry VII and himself sixth-in-line to the throne. To prevent any chance of a Tudor attempt to seize the crown from the Stuarts, James I sent Seymore to the Tower of London and committed Arabella to the care of the Bishop of Durham. Her connection to the School is that she stayed for some months in Barnet in the house of Thomas Conyers, a QE Governor, after falling ill en route to Durham, while Rev. Matthias Milward, a Governor and subsequently Master of the School, attended to her spiritual needs.

Anyone with access to the eQE portal may read The Arabella here.

Head Editor Timi Banjo, of Year 12, leads a 12-strong team of editors and advertising managers drawn from the senior year groups. He said: “This edition of The Arabella captures the spirit of creativity, exploration, and expression that defines our school community.”

Year 11’s Soham Sapra got the drama content off to a good start with an essay on the ‘spell-binding performance’ of comedian Robin Williams’ in his voice-acting for Disney’s 1992 animated film, Aladdin.

Here is a small selection of the many other contributions:

• The above artwork produced by Year 11’s Kyaan Syed
• A poem by Danyal Rahim, of Year 10, extolling the praises of sweets and chocolate
• Year 10 boy Nikhil Francine’s analysis of Sibelius’ Violin Concerto
• A piece of creative writing by Elijah Bedion, of Year 7, entitled The Window
• Year 11 pupil Vu-Lam Le-Nguyen’s exploration of The Intertwined
• Lexicons of France and its Former Colonies
• Sixth-former Harshith Sharavana’s account of the work of 19^th-century doctor Ignaz Semmelweis in introducing antiseptic procedures in hospitals and thus reducing fatal infections
• A short Classics essay by Felix Calder, of Year 12, on Is Roman Satire a genuine expression of feelings? A defence of Juvenal’s Satire 6.

The Robert Dudley Studio, QE’s new facility for drama and the spoken word, has been demonstrating its flexibility in a string of events. 

The studio, created from two existing large rooms towards the rear of the Main Building, hosted early rounds of the English Speaking Union’s Schools’ Mace debating contest and of the national Performing Shakespeare competition. 

Two events were held there as part of a new partnership with the English National Ballet, while it was also the venue for a special English lesson exploring dramatic imagery and language. 

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “With the installation of audio-visual equipment, The Robert Dudley Studio has really begun fulfilling its potential for helping us develop oracy in our pupils.” 

At the Mace, the country’s oldest and largest debating competition for schools, a senior QE team – including School Captain Chanakya Seetharam, as well as Zaki Mustafa, and Koustuv Bhowmick, all from Year 13 – took on Haberdashers’ Girls’ School. Other leading schools from North London and Hertfordshire also competed.  The QE team won the event to progress to the second-round heats in January.  

For the Performing Shakespeare competition, every boy in Year 8 learns a speech to perform in class. The 12 winners from across the six Houses fought it out in the School final, held this month in The Robert Dudley Studio (RDS). 

Head of English Robert Hyland said: “There are some things which reading Shakespeare simply as words on the page can never give – so much of the impact of his work comes from how performers have chosen to interpret, following the rhythms and the imagery of the poetry to bring the words to life.  

“Year 8 have done a brilliant job this year in not only choosing a wide range of speeches from across Shakespeare’s plays, but in showing an audience how they understand the text in a way which essay-writing can never replicate.  

The top three performers were:  

• Param Jani, of Underne House, in first place with Is this a dagger I see before me?  from Macbeth 

• Sai Rushil Manchiraju, of Pearce, the runner-up, with Hamlet’s To be or not to be   

• Kavin Rajan, of Harrisons’, who took third place with Henry V’s Once more into the breach dear friends. 

 “The standard overall was very high,” said Mr Hyland. “Param’s speech from Macbeth was a worthy winner, allowing the audience to see and viscerally feel the conflicting emotions and feelings that Macbeth is experiencing at this point in the play.”  

The top two go through to the regional round in the Spring Term.   

The special English lesson held in RDS also focused on Shakespeare, looking at scene 3 from act 3 of The Tempest, where Ariel (under instruction from Prospero) is creating visions for the royal court. Some members of the court are responsible for deposing Prospero from his Dukedom in Milan before the play starts.

Mr Hyland said: “The focus was on the language of the royal court as it was expressing amazement at natural phenomena, and then on how tableaux could be used to depict the key visual moments of the natural world interacting with humanity (Ariel appearing as a harpy, the vanishing banquet, and so on).

“We subsequently returned to the language, thinking about the delivery of the speech which Ariel gives, and what key or words ideas come to light when presented dramatically.”  

Finally, the studio’s versatility came to the fore for the English National Ballet partnership events. 

First, a screening for 30 Year 9 boys of the ENB’s and choreographer Akram Khan’s award-winning production of the classical ballet, Giselle, was held in RDS. Then, the boys toured the ENB’s design and rehearsal studios in Canning Town, learning about the many jobs associated with ballet and meeting some of the creative team behind Giselle.   

ENB dancers and a musician later came to QE and gave the boys a two-hour contemporary ballet workshop, testing the RDS’s audio equipment to the full. They explored ways of moving, inspired by the plot, characters and choreography of Giselle – and all to live beats and rhythms. The boys gained an insight into the coordination, balance and agility needed in ballet. 

Assistant Head (Pupil Involvement) Crispin Bonham-Carter said: “It was brilliant to see the studio being used flexibly as both a fantastic surround-sound cinema and then, with the seats retracted, a fantastic dance studio!

“Best of all though was the enthusiasm and energy the boys put into their dancing. Who knows – maybe the next Akram Khan has just learnt his first dance steps? 

“Having a dedicated space for performing arts helps facilitate such work, but also provokes staff to seek out new and creative opportunities for the boys.” 

The 2024 School Play delved deep into the tumultuous events that marked the decades-long run-up to Indian independence in 1947.

Lions and Tigers explored not only the conflict between the eponymous British lions and Bengal tigers, but also between factions of the independence movement, including those, led by Gandhi, who espoused civil disobedience, and those favouring violent insurrection.

Written by British playwright Tanika Gupta, the play combines the story of her great-uncle, Dinesh Gupta, a 19-year-old Indian freedom-fighter hanged by the British in 1931 after shooting dead the Inspector-General of Prisons, with the broader history of the fight for Indian independence.

Congratulating all involved, Headmaster Neil Enright said: “The production did not shy away from the pain, violence and brutality of the period, but dealt with the complex issues sensitively and conveyed the emotional depth of the characters. It was impactful and, at times, shocking, yet done with a gravitas and maturity that belied the age of some of the young performers.”

Lions and Tigers was first performed in 2017 at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse in Southwark, coinciding with the 70^th anniversary of Indian independence.

QE’s production involved 15 boys in the principal roles, supported by an acting ensemble playing other parts.

Two very well attended performances were held after school on consecutive days in the Main School Hall, while Year 9 attended a final dress rehearsal.

“The play was notable for a host of powerful and impassioned performances,” said Mr Enright. “The whole cast, including the ensemble, did a brilliant job, with Akshay Shah setting the tone with an amazing performance as the central character, Dinesh Gupta.”

Other notable mentions should go to Daniel Kollo as Charles Tegart, Nittant Moudgil as Mahatma Gandhi, Soham Sapra as Subhash Bose, and Aahan Shah as Jyotish Gupta, he added.

“It was nice to see a good number of other pupils attending, whether aspiring actors, older students who have been part of the QE drama community, or those who were just there to support friends.”

The play was directed by RM Drama’s Gavin Molloy. Musical support was provided by QE’s Indian Music Ensemble.

Assistant Head (Pupil Involvement) Crispin Bonham-Carter lauded the “immersive and visually interesting staging”, which was done ‘in the round’, as well as “the clever and effective use of newsreel footage and recorded voice-overs”. One example of the latter was that the actors had voiced in advance the words to the letters their characters had sent (as set out in the script): these were then played through the sound system while the boys acted out what had been written.

• Click on the thumbnails below to view the images.