Parents' Evening

Sweet ECA plays host to one of several new ‘immersive’ theatre shows - Parents’ Evening invites us to join the staff of Aultyme Time High on their special parents’ night – the only difference being the audience are the parents.The play takes place in the main hall and has all the trimmings of an actual school event – watered down orange juice, badly written name stickers and uncomfortable seats not to mention the feeling of being so tired from clapping that you just don’t bother anymore. The cast are on the whole very good and stick well to their characters. The idea is a great and well thought out – but could perhaps be accused of being a little rushed towards the end.The pull of this performance is the sheer and utter fun of it. I was laughing, gasping and truth be told – very competitive about the quiz. So, in tribute to the hard work the actors put in – here's my own report card on the cast of this show. See me after class.English – Mr. Danielson – Laurence BassettMr. Danielson stuck well to the intended learning aims and objectives of the evening. His contribution to the Parents’ Quiz was integral to the early successes of the night as a whole. Moving forward Laurence could be encouraged to further push his boundaries focussing on the decline of the plot and what his reactions would be. A scarily convincing evening’s work. Well Done. Music – Mr Starling – Robbie OrmrodMr Starling is a pleasure. His commitment, passion and obvious musical talent are not used often enough at this school. I would suggest that he now actively seeks further extension work from his superiors in order to fully bring his character to fruition. Keep up the good work!History – Dr. Kimble – Ed PembertonDr. Kimble struggled through a lot of this evening’s work. Unfortunately youthfully impaired, his lack of experience sometimes shows through and allowed the learning atmosphere to suffer a slight drop in productivity. Ed is clearly a talented actor horribly miscast. May I suggest he changes his subject choices next academic term? French – Miss Floret – Stephanie JamesMiss Floret is a lively character. Her speech she prepared for the parents could have perhaps used another glance over – but overall a harrowingly convincing performance. Stephanie should look to improve this next term and keep all inter-subject collaborations (especially with music) to a minimum. P.E – Mr Stringer & Brett – Rupert Lazarus & Ed RiggMr Stringer’s contributions this evening have been helpful, indeed enjoyable – but perhaps a little loud. Sometimes it is as powerful to not shout than to always make his voice heard. His assistant Brett is a joy to have around and I think the two make a very strong partnership. Rupert’s impression of a man in a wheelchair makes the class giggle constantly - though a certain selection of the parents’ football team threatened to leave me with egg on my face. Keep up the sterling work boys!Head of House Comments – Ken – Ben WainwrightKen is such a likeable member of the school. His language could sometimes be accused of being ripe – especially considering he is in an educational environment and hearing the f-word five minutes into a parents’ evening would not be the best for pupil retention figures. But, he gets the audience onside and I feel he could develop this with perhaps a little more direction next term with regards to his reactions about the climax of the evening. Well done Ben. Headmistress Comments – Lauren GarnhamLauren is a star. She was unfortunately let down this evening by a slightly confusing ending, but I’m sure by working hard with the English department and having a look at her plot lines, this could be rectified. A cracking success. Secretary’s Comments – Michelle FahrenheimMichelle started the evening for us and handled the task of bringing the audience into the created world of Aultyme High expertly. She works very well with Lauren Garnham and their work together has impressed us all.