Whilst the adverse weather conditions meant waiting until the snows had melted for the magic to happen, the cast of actresses aged 10-18 were greeted with many rounds of applause from the packed theatre on the show’s opening night marking the beginning of an enchanting run of three performances.
Audience members were enchanted by spellbinding performances from girls of all ages with Year 11 Charlotte, Year 11 Amy and Year 8 Lilly taking to the stage as Lumière, Cogsworth and Mrs Potts. The girls were also joined by local students Kieran and Lawrence who played the Beast and Chip.
The School’s Head Girl Savannah led the cast as beloved Disney princess ‘Belle’.
Savannah said: “I loved taking on this role, it was absolutely amazing opportunity. Belle is a refreshingly different character to so many fairy tale stereotypes; she isn’t a stock princess type but a strong woman who isn’t afraid to be an individual and live on her own terms. Belle is a fantastic role model for a lot of young women and to get the chance to play her, especially in an all-girls environment, is really empowering.”
The production also showcased the talent of the School’s young musicians and was accompanied by a live orchestra, led by Director of Music Mr Rob Norman and comprising largely of GCSE and A Level pupils.
Backstage, pupils had been hard at work designing and making enchanting set pieces to bring this fairy tale world to life. Larger than life roses and animated films of dancing tableware were just a few of the magical set pieces created in the School’s award-winning Art department to help bring the magic of Disney to life on stage.
From sumptuous ball gowns to a handmade horned headdress our A level designers have also been creating dazzling costumes for the cast.
“Our annual production continues to bring together more and more pupils from all across the school every year,” said Head of Creative & Performing Arts Mrs Judith Tutin. “It’s been a real team effort and the stars of the show were not just our actors, but pupils right from Prep School to Sixth Form in a huge variety of creative arts disciplines. The use of animations, projected drawings, hand-made props and stunning couture costumes really brought the characters to life. I was hugely impressed by our orchestra of Truro High musicians as well as the fabulous lighting run by one of our Year 11s. It’s not just a wonderful production but a real experience and it’s been a pleasure to share it with so many of our girls.”
In addition to offering GCSE and A level Drama, Truro High School offer LAMDA lessons, the Arts Award, dance tuition, drama clubs and major productions giving pupils plenty of opportunities outside of the classroom to explore their talent in all aspects of the theatre.
Recent school productions have included The Crucible, Into the Woods, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Wizard of Oz, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, & Oliver!.
