Drama as we know it began in Ancient Greece in the competitive drama festivals associated with the cult of Dionysus, so there was something fitting about the theme for our annual Middle School Play Festival this year being ‘Greek Myths.’ The standard of all four plays performed by the brother-sister house combinations was exceptionally high, with our adjudicator, Mr Simon Thompson, genuinely impressed by the energy and character on show. All four casts and crew played to their strengths with some powerful narrators and impressive lead characters, along with well-choreographed crowd scenes and touches of expressionist physical theatre.

Carrington and College West presented an imaginative retelling of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, with a particularly strong central performance from Oliver T in the role of Orpheus, an entertaining cameo from McKenzie B leaning into the absurdity of the situation and some energetic narrators in the form of Lanre A, Donald F, Lily C and Bruno T. Their effective use of props and sound also stood out and was commended by our adjudicator.

The telling of the story of Perseus and the Gorgon by Arniston and Glencorse was made particularly effective by its two narrators, Cian M and Bruno M, and the strong stage presence of the central protagonist, Clemmie A playing Perseus, who, in the words of the adjudicator, oozed class. Equally impressive in this production was the imaginative staging of Medusa by Matilda S the burping king P portrayed by Hamish C.

The power of physical theatre was particularly prominent in Dalmeny and Kimmerghame’s version of Odysseus and the Trojan Horse, where there were some highly effective stylised battle scenes and well-considered and clever realisations of almost unstageable mythic moments, like the entry of the Wooden Horse into Troy and the burning of the city – a great moment of energy from Gracie R. A strong narrator in the form of Donald M helped to meld this performance together and there were powerful and poignant moments of drama from Lottie D as Cassandra, Bo H as Paris and Cosmo S as Odysseus.

A competitive festival can only have one winner, however, and that came in the form of Moredun and College East’s rendition of Theseus and the Minotaur. What impressed our adjudicator most about this production was the balance that it struck between strong individual performances, well-drilled crowd scenes and imaginative touches to the direction coming through with the lighting, sound, use of coloured costume and physical theatre – for example, using at least twenty actors to form a labyrinth. The two narrators, in the form of Hazel M and Sofia-Noor S, brought subtlety and variety of tone to their performance, whilst Robin C and Vijay G as Kings Minos and Aegeus respectively had plenty of majestic touches of character. Jess N, as a wily Daedalus, and Bryce S, as a physically imposing Minotaur, brought complementary strengths to the production, whilst there was also effective contrast between the vain heroics of Theseus, as performed by Atticus H, and the more dainty Ariadne of Pari R. Ultimately, the way in which this production created atmosphere and a clear sense of a mythic world on a simple stage won on the day.

All four productions were a great advert for the power of theatre – well done to all involved!