'Olivia' the Musical - a Triumph!

38 Students from Years 8 to 11 at Connaught School for Girls were involved in performing the musical ‘Olivia’ to triumphant acclaim on 4th and 6th November 2008. Olivia is the story of a young orphan girl that mirrors the story of Oliver Twist in many ways but involves other literary characters from Victorian times, including Eliza Doolittle played by Eleanor Walsh, Ebeneezer Scrooge played by Bethan Bartlett and Sherlock Holmes played by Sarah Fox.

Directed by Ms Claire Raison, Head of Drama at Connaught, the cast treated audiences to two wonderful evenings of theatre as Olivia, played by Zahra Fontenelle, embarked on a journey from Mrs Murdstone’s Orphanage to reunite emotionally with her long-lost mother Annie, played by Rakaya Baree, after separating when very young. There were many moments of hilarious comedy between the characters and every song, accompanied by musical director Mrs Rosemary Sanger, was sung wonderfully and with great conviction. A parent who wrote to the school after watching the production commented that she "enjoyed herself immensely" finding the performance "refreshing, clean, inspiring, hilarious and containing a lesson for all walks of life".

Mrs Ann Betts, Headteacher, told the cast and audience on the final night that providing opportunities for students to express themselves in a production was a very important part of school life and that “the cast and crew will remember this for the rest of their lives”. Amongst the audience on the final night was Mr Bill Lyttle, Chief Adviser for VT Education and Skills who in a letter to Mrs Betts said that he “was extremely impressed by the wealth of talent displayed by your pupils, indeed the production matched professional performances I have seen”.

The production was a real team effort. Not to be forgotten are the backstage crew made up entirely of Connaught students and supporting Connaught staff, particularly from the Creative & Performing Arts and Technology Clusters who were responsible for the fabulous marketing, costumes, scenery, front of house etc. Everyone who was involved can be duly proud of their efforts and take a well-earned rest, although Ms Raison is talking about the next school production! Watch this space ...

See more photographs in the Olivia Gallery (opens in a new window).