Spotlight Pupils Stage Stunning Performances

King’s elite performers delivered a stunning series of performances at Thursday’s Spotlight showcase.

Despite a short term in which to work, the repertoire was truly expansive, and this term’s trio of talented pupils gave their audience an absolute treat.

Opening the show was Bella, trialling new repertoire ahead of competitive drama school auditions at the start of next year. “I’m Not Afraid of Anything” is a real powerhouse number from the musical “Songs From a New World”. The versatility in Bella’s vocals, from the bittersweet musings in a lyrical head voice to emphatic self-assurance expressed in her powerful belt was stunning.

The audience were then sucked into a compelling trio of monologues, all taken from the same one-woman play – Suzie Miller’s Prima Facie, most notably performed by Jodie Comer at the National Theatre. It’s a hard-hitting journey through the life of a young defence barrister whose career is built on searching for every legal loophole on her clients’ behalf, and whose world falls apart when she becomes the victim and experiences the justice system through a very different lens.

Cecily, Sophia and Bella each gave us their interpretation of the character of Tess at different stages of the play (and her life) – a fascinating exercise, proving how very personal the process of characterisation is, especially in the hands of such accomplished young performers.

Sophia then softened the mood for us with a gorgeous rendition of the Gershwin classic “Someone To Watch Over Me”, a beautifully wistful performance that really showcased the mellowness of her voice, before the evening turned to Shakespeare, starting with Much Ado About Nothing.

Bella provided context as Beatrice in Act 1, Scene 3, turning her acerbic wit against the institution of marriage and menfolk in general. Cecily and Sophia then joined proceedings as we jumped ahead to Act 3 where Hero and her gentlewoman, Ursula, engineer a deliberately pointed conversation for Beatrice to overhear in a desperate attempt to force Beatrice to be true to herself and admit her concealed feelings for mental sparring partner, Benedick.

After the almost pantomimic feel of one of Shakespeare’s most contrived comic scenes, the mood stayed buoyant as Cecily took her turn to explore the Great American Songbook with the up tempo classic, “Get Happy”, most famously sung by Judy Garland. It’s a real toe-tapper, twisting and turning through it’s many repetitions and Cecily proved she has the vocal range to really “swing”!

We moved back to Shakespeare, but the much darker “Richard III” with Bella in the role of Lady Anne, accompanying the funeral procession of the late Henry VI, only to be disturbed by Richard – responsible for Henry’s death in battle – and his ill-timed attempts to woo her. Bella stalked through the audience simmering with righteous anger as she confronted the ‘dreadful minister of hell’, Richard!

It was also Bella who closed the evening, diving into the Great American Songbook, like Sophia and Cecily, for Cole Porter’s “Miss Otis Regrets”. The simplicity of melody belies a narrative complexity with Porter’s trademark bittersweet satire, and Bella’s vocals were both melodically haunting and theatrically nuanced.

It was a stunning evening to round off work this year by our older Spotlight performers. Next week, the younger generation take to the stage with the Lower Years’ production of “The Phantom Tollbooth”, before everyone comes together in the final week of term to celebrate all things theatrical at the KAFTAs.

Seeing our Spotlight trio tonight, we are assured that our youngest pupils have superb role models to look up to as they continue their own dramatic journey.