House Drama – It’s a Conspiracy

This year the theme for Senior House Drama was Conspiracy Theories and each House was given one day to devise a performance based on their randomly selected stimulus. The difficult task of judging the evening was given to actress Helen Phillips who was extremely impressed by the standard of the work produced in the short time frame. Helen has worked extensively in Theatre, TV and film, touring the UK and Ireland in productions of Equus, The Importance of Being Ernest, and Dad’s Army Marches On.

Riding’s were first up with their portrayal of the assassination of John F Kennedy. Stephen McMahon commanded the stage in his performance of the Inspector whilst the ensemble explored the psychiatric state of the murderer.

Paull’s performance on the Death of Princess Diana followed, with Georgina Harvey and Sophie Lourides deservedly earning the prize for Best Director. This was an excellent ensemble piece which used the work of DV8 beautifully in routines between Jordann Gasper and Milly Rees. The girls were commended for their construction of the storyline which sought to look at the involvement of MI6 in the death of the Princess, earning them Runner Up for Best Show.

The third performance of the night was from Leeman’s House, based in Area 51. This winning show included standout performances from Harry Taylor (Best Actor) and Jake Reynolds who lead the performance which explored the manipulative nature of the Area 51 inhabitants. Visually this performance was the most impressive of the evening as the ensemble worked creatively to produce a haunting and ‘alien’ atmosphere.

Beevor’s House had one of the more ‘out-there’ stimuli of the evening; David Ike’s theory that all of our world leaders are actually reptiles! This piece used comedy brilliantly to look closely at the politician Iqbal (Azaan Iqbal) and whether in fact he was a reptile. Luca Edmondson took the lead role of Ike as the piece explored his obsession with his theory and the impact it had on his family and friends. A particular highlight was their ‘Conspiracy Theory Anonymous’ group which allowed all cast members a moment to shine.

Kennedy’s House combined comedy with tragedy in their depiction of the Apollo 11 Moon Landings. Both Tega Ogufere and Daniel Calvert-Skinner were commended by the adjudicator for their entertaining and believable leading roles.

McGill’s House closed the evening with their TV Show inspired performance ‘Fact or Fiction’ which considered multiple conspiracy theories surrounding the events of 9/11. The adjudicator had particular praise for the versatile and comedic performances of Zackary Agama (runner-up for Best Actor) and Christian Gauthier, with their air steward sequence garnering some of the biggest laughs of the night. Praise also goes to their directorial team of Daniel Shores and Zackary Agama who also secured Runner-up Best Director and third Best Show.