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
Productions & Events
Throughout the year we stage a large number of performances with cast members from Year 7 through to Sixth Form. Recent productions have included Rent, Made in Dagenham, Annie, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Much Ado about Nothing
- 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 and 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.
- 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.
Professional Theatre
Theatre visits are organised wherever possible. GCSE and A Level students are required to see live theatre performances as part of both courses. We aim to see at least four productions a year that are compulsory for these teaching groups. Recent trips have included: Wicked, Apollo Victoria Theatre, Jerusalem, Apollo Theatre, War Horse, National Theatre, Our Country’s Good, Lyric Hammersmith.
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. Recent workshops have included Blood Brothers for Year 10, a Year 12 workshop with Farnborough Hill School and a Devising Workshop for Years 11 and 13. 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 include:
- 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 Arnaud Theatre
- The Ocean at the End of the Lane, New Victoria Theatre
Past productions
