If all the world's a stage, then the players of All Saints discovered many new and exciting parts during their journey to Italy and England on the 2023 Performing Arts Tour.
If all the world's a stage, then the players of All Saints discovered many new and exciting parts during their journey to Italy and England on the 2023 Performing Arts Tour.
Admiring renaissance venues such as Shakespeare's famous Globe Theatre, touring his birthplace in Stratford, watching a multitude of modern performance styles from ballet to immersive theatre and musical theatre on the West End, participating in workshops with Frantic Assembly, touring La Scala (one of the top three opera houses in the world) and enjoying Aida at the Verona Di Arena were but a handful activities on this epic journey.
Year 11 attendees Mika Astle and Sophia Brown said it was wonderful to see how prominent the arts were in both England and Italy, even among the non-stop bustle of metro European life.
"The culture, particularly in London, is completely different than here, it's so busy, there are theatres on every corner and always something going on 24/7," says Mika.
"Most days on the tour, we saw two West End shows, walking straight out of a matinee and into an evening show," adds Sophia. "To be able to experience that with people around you who love it as much as you do was so great."
The girls agree that performances of Jersey Boys, Grease and Newsies were top highlights from the trip.
As a special treat, All Saints alumna and West End veteran Bonnie Page gave the group VIP backstage treatment at Jersey Boys, where she played the supporting role of Lorraine.
Mrs Chantelle Flint, tour organiser adds that "seeing Bonnie on the West End stage was a true full circle moment. I had tears watching her. We gave the West End cast the true All Saints treatment with extended cheering and applause after almost every number. The stage manager even featured us as the best audience of 2023 in the show report".
"When we were talking to Bonnie before the show, she mentioned that professional productions typically take about four to six weeks of full-time rehearsal. This seems crazy to us because our All Saints musicals can take months to create,'' says Mika.
''They are flexible enough to swap people out if they need to recast," adds Sophia. "Swings will just learn the choreography in just moments before going on stage."
In addition to the glitz and glam of the West End, Mika and Sophia both agree that the theatre and concerts were also memorable and entertaining.All Saints critics agree that The Play That Goes Wrong by Henry Lewis and The Burnt City by Punchdrunk were unmissable, as was Dear England by the National Theatre.
Type on the line above then press the Enter/Return key to submit a new search query