Drama

We give our students access to all aspects of dramatic performance; encouraging them to become involved in directing, producing and stage managing, as well as forming technical and design crews.

We involve as many students as possible in our productions, taking great pride in developing successful performances with students of all ages.  Each year there are School productions for which students can audition at both senior and junior level.  The Sixth Form write, direct and produce plays for the Year 8 students to perform at the annual Junior Drama competition.

The school provides students with the opportunity to participate in a wide range of less formal performances and events, as well as a range of workshops and clubs throughout the year

Emily White, Head of Drama

Professional Theatre

We immerse our drama students in all aspects of professional theatre, arranging trips to live productions as well as hosting fantastic workshops here at SWPS. We also have access to National Theatre, West End and Broadway shows via Digital Theatre, holding screenings in our purpose built studio space!

Recent theatre company workshops

Sweeney Todd, Lunt-Fontanne Theatre (Broadway)

Come From Away, Phoenix Theatre

Blood Brothers, New Victoria Theatre

Jerusalem, Apollo Theatre

2:22 A Ghost Story, Criterion Theatre

Punchdrunk’s The Burnt City, Woolwich Works

The Caucasian Chalk Circle, The Rose Theatre

Othello, Yvonne Arnuad Theatre

The Ocean at the End of the Lane, New Victoria Theatre

 

Productions and Events

Throughout the year we stage a large number of performances with cast members from Year 7 through to Senior Sixth. These have included:

Junior Drama - An annual competition for all students in Year 8. A play is written, produced and directed by members of the Senior Sixth and performed by Year 8 - with lots of high energy fun to be had!

Whole School Production - A large scale musical featuring students and a technical crew from all year groups.

LAMDA Concerts - An opportunity for Speech and LAMDA students to show parents and friends pieces prepared for their examinations.

A Play in a Weekend - During the summer term we work with the Music Department to stage an abridged version of a well-known musical in a race against the clock.

Drama Club Showcase - Throughout the year students from across the school have access to a variety of Drama Clubs, including technical theatre, puppetry and performance. At the end of each term they showcase the work they have been doing.

GCSE and A Level exam performances - This is an opportunity for an invited audience to watch our exam classes perform their original devised material and extracts from a play.

Year 13 Pantomime - The annual Sixth Form Pantomime is written and performed entirely by students in Year 13, and supported by our technical crews.

Trips To New York

In April 2023, the Drama department took 30 students across the Atlantic to New York for five days. This fantastic action-packed trip was an amazing opportunity for students to experience the culture of another part of the world. We kicked off the trip with a walk on the Highline and a visit to Summit One, both of which had incredible views of the city. The next day we visited the 9/11 memorial and museum and then took on the misty weather with a ferry ride to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Day three was easily the most highly anticipated day of the trip with a Hamilton Broadway workshop led by cast members of Hamilton, followed by Sweeney Todd a musical that had only recently returned to Broadway! The fun didn’t stop there as the next day we had an all-access tour to Madison Square Gardens, and we took on the long walk through Central Park to the Guggenheim Museum. Dinner that evening was at the famous Ellen’s Stardust Diner where the wait staff sang songs from all decades. On our final day in New York, we had a tour of the iconic Radio City Music Hall and did some shopping around Times Square, with a visit to Lin Manuel Miranda’s Drama Book Shop before heading back to the airport for the flight home. Our students (and staff!) had an amazing time in New York and will look back fondly over the memories made there.