GCSE Drama Pupils Inspired in the Art of Devised Storytelling

Devised drama is great fun, and our GCSE drama pupils love working towards their end-of-year devised performances. Yet, there is a rigorous process our pupils need to learn, develop and practise.

This week, we welcomed Splendid Productions, a London-based Theatre Company specialising in creative adaptations, to our school. They conducted workshops with our 5th-year students, focusing on ‘devising from a stimulus’. Each group was tasked with selecting a well-known fairytale and devising their own episodic scenes, which involved analysing the characters, locations, events and sounds as part of their creative storytelling.

This workshop provided a fabulous opportunity for our pupils to brainstorm and delve into the thinking and structure behind devised performances.

Head of Drama Ben Oldfield said, “We are thrilled to welcome Splendid Productions to our school; their workshops not only inspired our pupils but also provided them with the invaluable experience of working with professional actors and benefitted from the creative direction of a professional theatre company.”

Splendid Productions later performed ‘The Government Inspector’ an adaptation of an 1836 Ukrainian comedy play by Nikolai Golgol in the Burrell Theatre for our GCSE pupils.