St Mary's Performance Ventures Into The Darkest Sherwood Forest

Published by St Mary's Calne on Tuesday 10th of January 2023

St Marys Fifth and Sixth Form performers took us into the darkest of mediaeval times, as half of the Delscey Burns Theatre was transformed ingeniously into Sherwood Forest and the other half became the palace of the father of the heroine of this year's senior production, The Heart of Robin Hood. This recent re-write of the classic legend, first performed at the RSC, elevated Maid Marion, inspirationally played by Phoebe, to the spiritual centre of the story as a feisty, spirited and moral girl trapped by her nobility, only to find her true home in the forest, as represented by a brooding and violent Robin (Annabelle E) and his Merry Men, here a motley bunch of cutthroats and thieves. Together they bonded and banded together against her villainous suitor, the evil Prince John (deliciously played by Lucy C), and triumphed at the end, after an epic (and sometimes gory) saga of thrills, double-crosses, rescued children, and a puppet dog named Plug. In a superb, motivated and inventive ensemble, Dora and Elowen shone in the shared role of Pierre, Marion's servant and the comic centre of the play, and Eva and Connie took turns to bring Marion's callous, vain sister Alice to glittering life. The sword fight sequences, expertly choreographed by Miss Caldwell, were genuinely thrilling, and Mr Merritt's set was truly awe-inspiring, and over four nights, the cast received rapturous applause from full houses of peers, staff and parents. Mrs Thomas' gala supper after the Friday performance provided a delicious and fitting finale to a terrific week of drama.