The School Concert
This year Mr. Higson was again our worthy chairman - his the task of introducing the artists, his the task of apologising at the curtain's refusal to move and his the task of telling those jokes which must be of the correct length to allow the next performer to reach his place on the stage. (His speciality is, of course, the "Shaggy Dog" tale, which can be shortened or lengthened as desired).
The concert opened with a modern item - songs and tap-dancing, given by M. Farrar and A. Chidgey, who were "Singing the Blues" in spite of two cheerful smiles. Mavis Joyce then sang "Rhythm in my Shoes," although from the complicated taps we heard, the rhythm in the shoes seemed to be inspired by a pair of neat, fast-moving feet. These two acts were followed by a duet on the piano by Veronica Hetherington and Harry Butterworth, who played three movements from Grieg's "Peer Gynt Suite" - a classic still popular in these days of Rock 'n Roll.
After this we had a short sketch by F. Anderson and M. Fielding called "The Dirty Trick," a play written in broad Lancashire dialect. It was pleasantly unusual to hear two people who normally speak good English acting in a dialect. Our fourth item was Mr. Wells singing Vaughan Williams' "Songs of Travel" ("The Vagabond," "Bright is the Ring of Words" and "The Roadside Fire"). These are not well-known songs with the general public, but owing to good intonation and convincing expression, went down very well.
Lawrence Kershaw played the accordion to us next and then Frank Briggs added a touch of mystery to the proceedings with his magic (using, of course, his deliciously-romantic stage name - Collosini). A piano solo by Gail Burdock, one of our first formers, followed. She played Beethoven's very beautiful "Fur Elise." The rest of the first half was taken up by the Sixth Form play called "The Man in the Bowler Hat." This was a tale of a married couple who never met with any excitement and suddenly found themselves in the middle of a gangster story. It was convincingly and professionally delivered by the Sixth.
The second half consisted of a musical comedy written by Messrs. Cooke and Handforth. It concerned a school inspector who found again the sweetheart of his school days in the course of his job. This was very well put over and its being, as it were, "home-made," pleased the audience.
Before the report ends, let us have a word or two about the "backroom boys." Mr. Anderton and Mr. G. Wright worked very hard in decorating the stage and many were the willing hands that helped the performers dress and make up, amongst them Miss Taylor.
We are indebted to these people and our performers for making the concert the success it was.
"She Stoops to Conquer"
For the first time in the history of the school a full-scale play was produced. Previously we have limited ourselves to one-act plays, but this year the newly-formed dramatic society decided upon a more ambitious piece of work. The play chosen was Oliver Goldsmith's classic, "She Stoops to Conquer." It was an excellent choice, for both cast and audience entered into the spirit of the play.
It was excellently "type" cast, Anthony Kerr and Colin Lamb making two very good "fops," and well-suited to the part. Although Robert Millward gave a good performance of Tony Lumpkin one felt that it was not quite his part. He seemed to lack some of the rustic humour and the contrast between him and Miss Constance Neville was not striking enough. However, his performance was highly commendable and he deserves special praise for taking over the part at the short notice of three weeks.
The part of Kate Hardcastle was taken by Pat Kelly. She had all the grace, dignity and charm that the part required, but she was a little too sophisticated. She was at her best in her role of barmaid when she really entered into the spirit of the character.
The part of her cousin was taken by Barbara Jackson. When she was at her ease and forgot her nervousness her performance was very good, for there were times when she seemed rather rigid and stilted.
The parts of Mr. and Mrs. Hardcastle were played by Tony Dyson and Angela Taylor. They were both very good and entered fully into the spirit of the characters. Angela had that lightness of touch which was needed for such a part and the humour was easily conveyed to the audience. In fact Angela gave an outstanding performance.
Sian Davies was excellent as the maid and one felt that it was a pity that one could not have seen more of her. The parts of Sir Charles Marlowe and the innkeeper were played by Wright Platt and Colin Cunnington.
Perhaps the most humorous of all the scenes was the inn-scene where Stuart Townsend gave a very realistic picture of a drunkard. Another very humorous and excellently performed scene was the scene at the bottom of the garden after Tony has taken his fond "mama" for a drive and thrown her into the horse pond.
Altogether the play was excellently produced and here we must thank Mrs. Pilling and Miss Rowe for their efforts and time which were richly rewarded. This production should be an encouragement and inspiration for the production of many more plays.
Joan Scholefield, VIA.Lit.