Meet drama’s super star

By Nick Akhurst, Head of Co-Curricular Drama, Dance and Technical Theatre

There are many members of the performing arts family that have been supportive over the years with helping us build the high-quality work the Co-Curricular Drama Department presents to the Radford community.

However, the one member we wish to acknowledge in this article has a peculiar story... This member started out in the senior drama Blood Wedding as a background supporting role and moved onto help improve the canteen. They then transitioned back on stage for the Addams Family musical and had a small supporting role that helped to frame the whole performance.

They continued their involvement in the Year 5-6 production of The Beanstalk, and then helped structure the performance of the Year 7-9 production of The Snow. In 2022, they really lifted the bar with their crowning achievement, appearing in both Just Macbeth and Macbeth in a central role, demonstrating their ability to play small, central characters.

This valued member is my old fence.

In 2020, my fence was in such a state of disrepair we decided to replace it. It turned out most of the timber was beautiful, hard wood. We transported more than 30 metres of the fence to Radford. In some cases, we kept the timber as is, and in others, we striped it back to reveal the colour underneath.

In each production, we must choose wisely about which elements we need to make the production look beautiful but also limit our wastage, impact on the environment, and come under budget. Each production’s budget is self-sustaining on the co-curricular contribution of students and ticket sales, so costumes, props, and set pieces are reused time-after-time.

Sometimes, the smallest contribution to a show can have an unintended positive impact.