A Level Drama Students at ‘Amadeus’

Building on the momentum of the autumn term trip to ‘Othello’ at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, the A Level Drama group were delighted to return to London for a live performance of another of their set texts, ‘Amadeus’ by Peter Shaffer. The Dorfman Theatre, part of St Paul’s School in South West London, delivered an invaluable resource for our students’ understanding of style, interpretation, and theatrical intention as required by the OCR specification for their critical theatre studies analysis.

Director of Drama, Jessica Wittert van Hoogland, explained: “This is a wonderful chance for the group to see how students of their age and ability mount plays as part of a co-curricular programme, and I am sure it will inspire them to continue to participate in our drama, music and dance programmes when they eventually move into Upper Sixth. I am thrilled we have found this production at such a reasonable rate as it is unlikely we will benefit from a live production of Amadeus performed again during their two-year course.“

Alana (Lower Sixth) who attended the performance enthused: “I thought that the production of ‘Amadeus’ by St Paul’s School was amazing! I most enjoyed the creative approach to blocking and staging, for example, The Venticelli striking dynamic poses in diagonal lines across the ornate thrust stage. I thought that this decision complimented and highlighted the atmosphere of the ‘City of Slander,’ which the play is set in. This trip enhanced my understanding of ‘Amadeus’, one of our A level set texts, as the lighting, costume and set design gave me a plethora of ideas for my own design of ‘Amadeus’ to write about in our exam paper. The attention to detail and clear Rococo style was especially impressive. A Level Drama allows us to appreciate theatre from all angles, including design, devising, and performance. It also allows us to learn collaboratively and practically, which you don’t find in many other subjects. To someone considering A level drama, I would highly encourage them to go for it!”