EXPERIENCING THE EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL

In August our Lower Sixth Form Drama pupils went to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, one of the greatest celebration of arts and culture in the UK. They performed the play Chaos by Laura Lomas in a short three show run, all of which were well attended by intrigued audiences. The play explored chaos theory and was specifically written for young adults as part of the National Theatre's Connections Festival.The pupils saw a diverse range of shows from circus acts to stand-up comedy and political drama. A particular highlight was a theatre adaptation of Trainspotting - which has become a Fringe institution and a perennial favourite on this trip with each cohort. All of these will be valuable sources of ideas for their final year in Drama. In their free time, pupils sought out and watched shows according to their personal interests, such as musicals and sketch comedy. One pupil was able to see a potential university’s comedy troupe and ask questions afterwards. One intrepid pupil even climbed Arthur’s seat with a visiting parent - although no one struggled to get enough exercise as walking is the main way of travelling the Fringe venues and everyone’s feet were tired by bedtime!Many thanks go to Mr Lewis and Mrs Drucker for making this trip possible over the summer.