66
Out of School
for best supporting actress. Their acting as a whole was
completely outstanding and seamlessly merged between
the naturalistic and non-naturalistic aspects of the play.
As well as a star studded cast, there were a few celebrities
in the audience. Some of the pupils found themselves
sitting directly in front of Jude Law and Ruth Wilson, who
performed together in‘Anna Christie’in a theatre just a few
minutes down the road from the Apollo Theatre.
Overall it was an exceptional performance, which greatly
enhanced several aspects of the novel with special effects
and superb acting. All of the students thoroughly enjoyed
it, and were very fortunate to get the chance to see such a
fantastic play.
Ella Capel-Smith Y11
Theatre Trips
Many Borlasians have had the opportunity of attending
theatre performances this year, at venues such as TheWest
End, The RSC at Stratford and…Potters Bar! Here is a report
on the Culture Vultures’ trip to see The Curious Incident of
the Dog in The Night-Time
On Thursday 21st March this year, there was a trip to see
the popular play ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the
Night-Time’, an adaptation of Mark Haddon’s novel. After
the book won a variety of awards, the stage adaptation
was created and performed in late 2012 at the National
Theatre, before transferring to Apollo theatre in 2013,
where a group of Year 11’s were lucky enough to get
tickets.
The play sticks faithfully to the plot of the book, which
begins with a 15 year old boy named Christopher Boone
finding his neighbour’s dog Wellington stabbed with a
garden fork in her garden. What ensues is his insistent
investigation into who did it and why, although what he
finds out turns out to be far more significant than who
murdered the dog. While it is not specifically stated in the
book, Haddon said that “if [Christopher] were diagnosed,
he would be diagnosed as having Asperger’s syndrome”.
As a result of this, he is extraordinarily intelligent and
particularly gifted at maths. He lives with his father, and
speaks frequently to Siobahn, his mentor at school. In the
book, Christopher keeps a book of his investigation, and
in the play, Siobahn often narrates the events as if she is
reading his writing.
‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’ had
the most nominations this year for Olivier Awards. Three of
these are for best set, light and sound design; all of these
aspects were exceptionally well executed. The stage was
a cubic shape, with a dark, graph like design on the walls.
However, this seemingly simple set revealed several well-
hidden technical aspects throughout the play. In the first
scene, one moment Christopher was sitting on the stage
alone, and in a quick blackout, he was suddenly with the
dog, stabbed with a garden fork, which must have come
from under the set. There were many hidden cupboards in
the floors and walls, where Christopher produced a train
set, which he assembled in the first act. He also climbed
one of the walls during the second act, and down again,
with graphic effectsmaking it seem like hewas descending
an escalator.
The role of Christopher was played by Luke Treadaway,
who has previously played the main character in ‘War
Horse’, both on the stage and for a television. He has
been nominated for the best actor in the Olivier Awards,
with Nicola Walker, who plays his mother, nominated
Y13 at ‘The Rocky Horror Show’
Y10’s visit to see ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’
