Co-Curricular: Drama at Whitgift

Big School, Whitgift's main assembly hall, converts to a tiered-seating amphitheatre for major productions; there is also a separate drama studio and Performing Arts Centre which can be used for smaller productions.

 

Performance opportunities exist for boys of all ages, with some productions confined to particular year groups. Auditions are always completely open, which renders performance drama accessible to everyone.

 

Plays are sometimes performed outdoors in either the Andrew Quadrangle or the Founder's Garden.

 

An important link exists with the Old Vic Theatre in London whose Artistic Director, the Hollywood actor, Kevin Spacey, has visited Whitgift for a master class. Following on from this, THINK TANK, a unique creative arts project, established by Whitgift and The Old Vic, and aimed at primary-aged school children, has been established to identify and develop promising talent.

 

Whitgift boys have taken leading roles in many television productions, including Me and My Monsters, The Demon Headmaster, and Mr Selfridge, as well as starring in the West End in Oliver!, Billy Elliott, Tosca and The Lion King.

 

The following theatrical works have been performed at the School and include Equus, Coram Boy, Toad of Toad Hall, Skellig, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Caretaker, Doctor Faustus, The Boy Who Fell into a Book, Much Ado About Nothing and Summer's Last Will and Testament. The School also has a proud tradition in staging musicals and operas, and recent productions have included, Monty Python's Spamalot, West Side Story, Bugsy Malone, Carmen, Jesus Christ Superstar, Carousel, My Fair Lady, The Ballad of Salomon Pavey, Oliver!, Captain Stirrick, Beauty and the Beast, The Producers, and Little Shop of Horrors.