Inter-house Drama Festival 2011

A packed Kemp Hall was witness to a wonderful (and noisy) evening of Dramatic Arts on Thursday 18th August at the 2011 Inter-house Drama Festival. The adjudicators were impressed with the overall level of the productions, as evidenced by their comments below:

Cambridge – Puss in Boots
Cambridge opened the evening’s proceedings with a fantastic array of characters which came to life in Puss in Boots. There was clearly a tremendous amount of hard work and effort put into the play and the actresses did well to bring the script off the page and into this magical world! The costumes had good attention to detail and captured the mood of the play. Kayla-Paige Raper did a fine job in executing the characterisation and vocal quality of Puss in Boots, while Klinka van Damme gave a memorable cameo performance as Granny.

Bleby – Rumplestiltskin
This was a thoroughly entertaining play, which was well written and exceptionally well performed. Kate Houliston gave a remarkably adept, nuanced and polished performance as Rumplestiltskin which carried the play forward. The cast worked well together and were well directed. There was an intuitive and refined quality to the humourous elements of the play.

Michiel Vos – uTatomkhulu uJack and the Beans that Talk
This was a seamless and well-run production on the whole. The set design was lovely and detailed, and the characters complemented each other well. There was evidently a great amount of effort put into the directing of the piece and the play’s intentions and comedy was well interpreted by all involved. The musical interludes were very well done and a delight to watch. Simbongile Ndlangisa gave a very natural and distinguished performance as Mama.

Innes - Innes-ception
A very creative script delighted the audience with an assortment of various characters and a host of current celebrity idols which made for a humourous and engaging play. Julia Holzberg brought an honest and layered performance to her character of Sky Blue and Amy Tanzer’s interpretation of the wicked Madonna was powerful. The costumes were inventive and there was evidence of great attention to detail. There was marvellous ensemble work and the choreography of the group scenes was effective and a pleasure to watch.

Marchand – A Tribute to Roald Dahl
This was a seamless and exceptional piece of theatre! It was an interesting and well executed interpretation of Little Red Riding Hood, creating outstanding sense of mood and atmosphere. The cues were tight, the actresses listened to each other and the story was told with great sense of rhythm, pace and tempo. There was evidence of cleverly devised use of theatrical elements, such as creating sets and props out of bodies and a tremendous effort of the voice choir. The musical and dance interludes, and an inspired performance by Robyn Paterson as She Wolf, all contributed to what was a very successful play.

At the end of the evening, a winner had to be chosen, and the results were as follows:
BEST OVERALL PLAY: MARCHAND for “A Tribute to Roald Dahl”
The most prestigious award at the Inter-house Drama Competition this year went to “A Tribute to Roald Dahl” (Marchand). The judges described the show as, “a seamless and exceptional piece of theatre. The cues were tight, the actresses listened to each other and the story was told with a great sense of rhythm and pace.”

BEST DIRECTOR: Bianca Ford for MARCHAND
Bianca Ford (Marchand) was named Best Director for her interpretation of “A Tribute to Roald Dahl.” The judges felt that the manner in which she incorporated “theatrical elements was outstanding.” These included using cast members’ bodies to create tableaus and background scenery, the tremendous effort of the choral verse choir, as well as the musical and dance interludes.

BEST ACTRESS: Kate Houliston as “Rumpelstiltskin” (Bleby)
Said the judges, “Kate Houliston (Grade 11) of Bleby offered a remarkably adept, nuanced and polished performance as Rumpelstiltskin. Her strong characterisation carried the play forward. She was very brave to create such an exaggerated and deliberately melodramatic character, and maintained focus throughout.”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Robyn Paterson as “She Wolf” (Marchand)
The judges were unanimous in their choice of Robyn Paterson (Grade 10) as Best Supporting Actress. Robyn acted as She-Wolf in the Marchand production. “Robyn’s strong and convincing performance did much to contribute to the overall sordid mood of the play. She maintained a pseudo-Russian accent, and was suitably conniving and menacing.”

BEST SCRIPT: MICHIEL VOS for “Utatomkhulu uJack & the Beans that Talk”
The judges were impressed by the original script, entitled “uTatomkhulu uJack and the Beans That Talk,” written by Samantha Newdigate and Amy Walton on behalf of Michiel Vos. The judges said that the show was, “witty and incorporated an intelligent use of humour to engage the attention of the audience throughout.”

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN: MARCHAND (Hannah MacMillan, Ingrid Pienaar & Cara Mazetti-Claassen)
The Marchand production, “A Tribute to Roald Dahl,” was judged to have the most intelligent and meaningful use of costumes, theatrical make-up and set design. The judges were impressed with their particular attention to detail, including the exaggerated false eyelashes worn by the Marchand choral verse girls.

BEST PRODUCERS: Shared: INNES (Zaynab Dutton) & MICHIEL VOS (Aphiwe Jikazana)
This year it was decided to have a producer for each play. The producer was not involved in the stage work at all and acted as the go-between between the teachers responsible and the director of her house play. The producer was responsible for all the hall bookings and for seeing that the cast members were kept informed of practices. The introduction of the producers proved to be a resounding success, as the arrangements for the big evening flowed exceptionally smoothly. It was impossible to choose only one girl as the best producer of the 2011 house plays as two of the producers proved to be enormously effective: Zaynab Dutton of Innes and Aphiwe Jikazana of Michiel Vos.

For some photographs from the evening, please see the Photo Gallery