The Dramatic Societies |
| In the late 50s and 60s
Poundswick had three flourishing Dramatic Societies:
Junior, Senior and Staff. Additionally, there was an
annual House Drama Competition (known as the HDC) in
which each of the four houses presented a one-act play
and these were judged by a panel of staff critics. There
was thus a real incentive for would-be Thespians to
sharpen their acting skills. Putting on plays involves more, of course, than just acting. A whole host of supporting areas such as scenery construction, stage lighting, sound, makeup, costume, stage management, properties, front-of-house, artwork for programmes and even production itself provided enormous opportunities for people with a wide range of interests to get involved. Many people got thoroughly hooked and if you look back over old programmes you will see many names that appear time and time again; it really was tremendous fun. One of my earliest memories at Poundswick was attending a performance (by the Staff Dramatic Society) of Sweeny Todd in which the villain was played by Bill Hutchinson; a larger-than-life character by anybody's standard. Somebody had the brilliant idea of serving hot meat pies and cherryade in the interval. We've managed to unearth a few old programmes and ARGO articles about some of the productions in the sixties which I have listed below. Those in blue have links to further information.
These are just a few of dozens of productions that must have echoed round the school hall over the years. If you have any information about others, please get in touch; I will be happy to include it. |