'On the Razzle' - A play written by Tom Stoppard, which provided our very talented senior drama students with a fantastic opportunity to showcase their excellent acting ability, within a hilarious comedy.

Directed by June Renwick, 'On the Razzle' is described as a comedic farce involving the owner (Herr Zangler, played by William Coleman) of an upmarket grocery store in an Austrian Village. He plans to marry Madame Knorr (Madeleine Fisher) who owns a women's clothing shop in Vienna. While he is away pursuing his love interest, he gives the authority of running the store to Weinberl (Sean Hewetson) and his naive apprentice, Christopher (Christian Smith). But these two have other ideas and decide that while their boss is away, they will go 'on the razzle' to Vienna.

Lots of fun things occur as Weinberl and Christopher go to great lengths to avoid bumping in to Herr Zangler in Vienna, which inevitably leads to two hours of "slapstick shenanigans, mistaken identities, misdirected orders, malapropisms, double entendres and romantic complications!"

The leads - William Coleman, Sean Hewetson and Christian Smith all played their parts superbly, as did the supporting actors: Madeleine Fisher, Poppy Flynn, Dilon Cane, Jessica Greer, Bella Greenslade, and the ‘classic’ Jonathan Potton as Melchior, Zangler’s fast-talking personal assistant; along with Megan Paterson, Imogen Sadler, William de Wit, Georgia Agnew, Ben Hunt, Rupert Curlett and Alex Sheehan. There were far too many priceless moments to list here, but a couple of cameos that caught my eye included the delightful interpretation of Hupfer, Herr Zangler's tailor played by Jacob Mills; the Coachman (Nic Buckley) and his fascination with 'buttocks' and the lovely Lisette (Abigail Robinson), the French maid.

Ms Renwick commented, " I am a great fan of Tom Stoppard.  He is a Director's dream. His plays overflow with words, ideas and theatrical action. Senior drama students proved to be the perfect team to work on the skills needed to deliver 'On the Razzle'. It has been a voyage of discovery, great fun and they were pure pleasure to work with."

Behind the scenes, Riccardo Massari, Glen Mortenson, Chas Foxall, Shaunna Woollard, and their team of students: Matthew Flynn, Daniel Fitzpatick, Mark Davison, George Oliver, Merritt Watson, Tom Richards and Alex Truscott worked tirelessly on set design and construction, sound design and operation, backstage and properties, make-up and costumes - making the production come alive.

With it's Scottish flavour (yes, it is set in Austria!) the inclusion of bagpipes, played perfectly by Eliot Couper and our very own Headmaster, Bradley Fenner, was, as Ms Renwick describes, "the icing on the cake!"

For three nights, throughout the two-hour performance, the King's ensemble entertained the appreciative audience, providing hearty comedy - it was laugh out loud stuff - full of the kind of farcical nonsense that everyone enjoys.

Gael Panama
Marketing & Communications Manager