Ambitious school show was Madness musical

The culmination of months of preparation and rehearsals saw 60 pupils take part in a successful stage production of the Madness musical.
By The Newsroom
Published 4th Feb 2018, 06:24 BST
Sir William Robertson Academy's production of school production Our House, the Madness Musical.Sir William Robertson Academy's production of school production Our House, the Madness Musical.
Sir William Robertson Academy's production of school production Our House, the Madness Musical.

The pupils and Sir William Robertson Academy took to the stage to perform the hit show ‘Our House’ in what is being described as their ‘most ambitious show yet’.

Our House is a musical with music and lyrics by Madness and based on a book by playwright Tim Firth. It won the 2003 Olivier award for Best New Musical.

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Pupils from years seven through to year 13 made up the cast of the show to entertain parents, pupils, staff and friends over three days.

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Action from the school's stage production.Action from the school's stage production.
Action from the school's stage production.

The musical was put together by SWRA’s drama and music departments and led by Bryony Burrough, head of drama and Mike Willson, head of music.

“Once again I have been amazed at the talent of our students at SWRA,” said Miss Burrough. “Our House has been our most ambitious show yet, both on the stage and behind the scenes.

“Our lead, Ewan Armstrong who played Joe Casey, changed costume 25 times per show, making it 100 costume changes throughout show week. On top of this the production team, made up of SWRA’s finest students and PGCE student Mr Barnes, were juggling revolving doors, a very heavy Morris Miner and a lightsaber or two each night.

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“I have been truly impressed with the maturity and motivation that our drama and music students have given this year, their acting, singing and dancing improves year on year and our school shows would not be as successful without their dedication.”

Action from the school's stage production.Action from the school's stage production.
Action from the school's stage production.

She added: “There is so much talent at SWRA and the students have made us extremely proud.

“We are very much looking forward to what our next production brings.”

Our House follows the two paths that Joe’s life could take after that fateful night; one path means a criminal record and social exclusion, while the other will lose him the girl that he loves.

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Some of those who attended the production took to Facebook to leave their reviews. Comments included:

l ‘It was brilliant. Can’t praise all of the cast and staff highly enough.’

l ‘The show was amazing, we absolutely loved it. The standard was incredibly high and my daughter loved being a part of it’.

l‘We were blown away with the talent and professionalism of all cast/crew’.