Gallions Primary School perform winning play on national stage

Gallions Primary School in Newham, London has performed three shows over the weekend to packed audiences at Trinity College London’s first International Festival of Playwriting and Performance at the Unicorn Theatre, the UK’s leading theatre for audiences aged 2 to 21.  The cast of 25 students in Year 4 was chosen to perform the winning play, The Last Word,  in Trinity’s International Playwriting Competition in the category Plays for Young Performers. 

The Last Word by Christina Maiden from Durham, is an inventive and clever play about a world where words start to mysteriously disappear. Set in the land of Dowsr, the play explores the chaos that follows the breakdown of the country’s word-making machine as robbers, police and judges all struggle to make themselves understood.

Matt Cornet, Director and Year 4 Teacher at Gallions, said,” While the children are used to performing, they have found the play to be quite challenging as many of the parts have required a considerable number of lines to be learnt and, as the majority of the children are just eight years old, many afternoons of rehearsals were needed! Our aim has been to make this an ensemble production and we hope you will agree that the children have demonstrated great maturity in their attitude towards the production.” 

John Gardyne, Head of Drama and Performance at Trinity College London, said, “All the children, and their teachers, have put in a tremendous amount of work to stage this fantastic play. We are delighted that they have been able to have their efforts rewarded by such a wonderful turnout at their performances. Trinity’s International Playwriting Competition offers opportunities not just for the winning playwrights but for schools and youth theatre groups to get involved and experience the joy that comes from performing on the stage.”

Gallions Primary School in Newham, London has performed three shows over the weekend to packed audiences at Trinity College London’s first International Festival of Playwriting and Performance at the Unicorn Theatre, the UK’s leading theatre for audiences aged 2 to 21.  The cast of 25 students in Year 4 was chosen to perform the winning play, The Last Word,  in Trinity’s International Playwriting Competition in the category Plays for Young Performers. 

The Last Word by Christina Maiden from Durham, is an inventive and clever play about a world where words start to mysteriously disappear. Set in the land of Dowsr, the play explores the chaos that follows the breakdown of the country’s word-making machine as robbers, police and judges all struggle to make themselves understood.

Matt Cornet, Director and Year 4 Teacher at Gallions, said,” While the children are used to performing, they have found the play to be quite challenging as many of the parts have required a considerable number of lines to be learnt and, as the majority of the children are just eight years old, many afternoons of rehearsals were needed! Our aim has been to make this an ensemble production and we hope you will agree that the children have demonstrated great maturity in their attitude towards the production.” 

John Gardyne, Head of Drama and Performance at Trinity College London, said, “All the children, and their teachers, have put in a tremendous amount of work to stage this fantastic play. We are delighted that they have been able to have their efforts rewarded by such a wonderful turnout at their performances. Trinity’s International Playwriting Competition offers opportunities not just for the winning playwrights but for schools and youth theatre groups to get involved and experience the joy that comes from performing on the stage.”