Drama - The Magical Voyage of Ulysses - March 2007

 What an adventure this was for cast and director!  The epic story of Ulysses' return to Ithaca after the battle of Troy was an ambitious choice for us this year, but ultimately a successful one.  Pushing musicals aside for a year we wanted to do a piece of group theatre that would allow for a large number of actors to be involved.  This version of the Ulysses (Odysseus) story by John Wiles involves all sorts of challenges and that is always exciting as one undertakes the job of bringing it to life.

This production relies heavily on sound, lighting and movement as well as great acting.  The first half amounts to 90 minutes of non-stop drama involving battles, monstrous attacks and huge storms at sea.  Using a large open set, cleverly designed by Tim Calvey, we were able to use the space to a maximum and utilising a shape that looked like the prow of a ship we could bring the all important voyage to life.  The core group of actors who played Ulysses' crew were crucial to the success of the show. Their sufferings and experiences as they faced Lotus Eaters, the Cyclops, Scylla and Charybdis as well as journeying to Hades and ultimately losing their lives in a mighty storm helped keep the audience focused.

The script calls for three actors to play Ulysses, all taking over as the great general at different moments of the play.  This means that no one actor takes on the full burden of the part (there is only one scene that Ulysses is not on stage) and allows us to use three different styles when playing the character.  The three boys who played the role were magnificent and gave a consistency to the story as well as helping all the other actors on the stage.

Group theatre allows you to use actors in many different roles and most of our cast played three or four parts: from the refugees in Troy as the city burns, to Sirens, to the Cyclops' herd of sheep and many others.  The most dramatic scenes are those with full cast on stage and the end of Act One when the crew of the ship are consumed by the waves was a highlight.  Using long strips of material to represent the sea as well as vibrant choreography the actors were able to bring the piece to a real climax.  The closing moment in the story when Ulysses returns to his palace disguised as a beggar to destroy the suitors who have overrun his home, was a defining moment and the climactic scene was worth all the shouting and anguish that directing involves.

We were lucky to have had some excellent lighting for this production provided by our old friends at Live Wire Theatre Consultants.  The colours that transformed each scene were spectacular and some of the special effects, such as revolving discs representing the hoops through which Ulysses shoots an arrow, were amazing.  The costume department came up with some superb costumes and the whole team are to be praised for all their hard work.  The combination of light, costume and make-up gave the show true professionalism.

To expect any group of children aged from Year 5 to Year 8 to embark on a full two hour show is a challenge and one that we are not afraid of embracing.  This show was hard to pull together because of all the various strands and the amount of people involved.  There is always a huge amount to be learnt in being part of a production, and the discipline and team spirit that for so long seem to be impossible to foster did indeed come together.  I was impressed by the focus that the actors gave to each scene and there was some excellent acting from all ages. Despite all of the inevitable problems one faces with any school show, this was a great success and creatively it was a real gem.  So many great comments about the ambition and professionalism of the actors have ben received and I hope that the cast are as proud of their achievements as I am.

Drama is a real highlight of life at Eagle House and although it is not all about shows and performances the big annual production brings together a lot of the skills that we practice throughout the year.  The Magical Voyage of Ulysses was a great piece of theatre and all credit goes to the hard work of the actors and behind the scenes crew who worked tirelessly to bring off another, quite different, project.

We are already thinking about next year's production and once again it will be something very different from what has gone before.  I hope that some of you will be able to come and see for yourselves the undeniable power and benefits that drama gives to our school today.

MWPE