Taylorian 2020

115 D rama is often about working towards a performance and on Wednesday afternoon, with the expected performances cancelled due to the coronavirus, the cast of ‘Our Day Out’ shared their production with an audience of their peers. ‘Our Day Out’ tells the story of a class of schoolchildren in 1970s Liverpool taken on a day’s outing by their teachers. The new Studio Theatre projector, partly funded by the Footlighters, formed part of an exciting backdrop for the play, while cast members created seamless transitions using our bespoke coach on wheels. Jay Ghelani’s interpretation of Mr Briggs from a no- nonsense, miserable school teacher into a humanbeingwhodevelops empathy for the plight of the children in his care, drove the storyline effectively. Mrs Kay was played with real sensitivity by Luca McCormick, who displayed particularly impressive levels of maturity and sensitivity in his acting for a boy in the Upper Thirds. Both characters interacted frequently with the excellent Gajaanan Jeevananthan, who gave an outstanding performance of Carol Chandler, a pupil desperate to escape the backstreets of Liverpool. Mikey Brog, as Linda, and Matthew Duggleby, as Karen, provided us with some fabulous moments of comedy through their interactions with teachers Colin and Susan, played with panache by Josh Simpson and Muhammad Abbas Jaffer Kassamali. James Meinck and Edward Ault were a joy to behold as the football-loving ‘scousers’ determined to cause chaos on the trip, and hats off to Jenson Ives, who had the job of driving this raucous rabble through the Welsh countryside. The story is one of hope and of happiness in a challenging context. The production was both funny and moving. Congratulations to the cast and crew for their fine performances and fantastic approach to the project this term.  Cast: Jay Ghelani, Luca McCormick, Josh Simpson, Muhammed Abbas Jaffer Kassamali, Jenson Ives, Gajaanan Jeevananthan, Mikey Brog, Matthew Duggleby, James Meinck, Edward Ault, Yuvraj Juttla, Ahren Chadha, Aran Joshi, Alex Cumming, Alex Elliott, Aarin Kundapur-Pereira, Ishan Kotecha, Ryan Bhasin, Adam Khan, Krishan Lakhani, Shrey Zaveri. Crew: Charlie Leigh, Suraj Shenoy, Daniel O’Shea, Joseph Wilkins, Midun Odunaiya. Ms C L Clarke Drama Drama Our Day Out - Lower School Play