A large number of Surbiton High School student took part in the school musical ‘Oliver!’, with something for everyone to do, such as performing in the main cast or ensemble, playing in the band, or working backstage. After months of preparation, a series of performances took place from Thursday 16th November to Saturday 18th November at the New Wimbledon Theatre.
Many members of the audience were stunned at the quality of the entire show, with one person describing it as “outstanding” and another saying it was “just as good as Broadway”. However, while many were enchanted by the theatrics onstage, it is what took place offstage that is really magical.
To ensure the dedication and ability of students wishing to perform in ‘Oliver!’, auditions were held, and a certain number of students were selected. This meant that while some people got through, their friends may have not.
While this was a concern for a number of people, this gave them a unique opportunity to talk to and associate with people that they already had one connection with: they both were in the school musical. This made it easier to create a bond between other people, and due to the sheer number of rehearsals for ‘Oliver!’, all the students participating in the musical would see each other often, giving them lots of a time to get to know each other well. Also, in a school day students are divided between years, and do not see much of other year groups, but in the musical, all the year groups were able to mix together and socialise.
Looking at the bigger picture, one of the many great things about musical theatre is the fact that it brings people together who may never have known or spoken to each other beforehand. Simply due to being situated at the same place at the same time, people can become close even when having little to nothing in common with each other.
I doubt that our school musical could have been as outstanding as it was if not for everyone creating these bonds and connections, as it provided people with a source of enjoyment to get them through rigorous hours of practice for the show. With people having fun and being able to talk to one another, rehearsals would not be so tiring for them, and they would be able to put more effort and energy into their performances. Overall, this meant that both performers and audience members alike would have a much more enjoyable time.
