Ben Clatworthy's Blog

Putting on a play is hard at the best of times, doing it whilst trying to balance school work, sport and everything else that is thrown in your way is a different matter.

It’s been a while since I last wrote a ‘proper’ blog entry because any spare minute I seem to have is swept up as I try to Production Manage the Clifton College School Play.

I’ve done the job for the past few years and really I think I would be silly to give up now with just the sixth form left of school. This year it’s ‘The Canterbury Tales’, adapted by Head of Drama at the school, Rob Morris.

The idea of putting on some of Chaucer’s work in a school play does seem like a slightly mad idea, ‘what about the sex?’ is a question I seem to get asked daily as we lead up to the opening night tomorrow. Well, with the mature cast  that we have issues like this have become very unimportant. We’ve kept the sex, kept the bums and most importantly kept the jokes. It’s no less funny, and its certainly no less interesting. We really do have it all, puppets for the Merchant’s Tale, masks for the Manciples Tale, and Beyonce for the Nun’s Priests Tale.

The Redgrave Theatre, Clifton College

Here at Clifton we are very much lucky enough to have a full size, 323 seat, professional theatre on the campus so putting on the school play is no little deal. The play is becoming the talk of the school. The technical and dress rehearsals are done, the lighting is programmed, the sound cued up and I am ready in the wings.

Life goes on though, its a full day of lessons tomorrow and then the opening night. The play runs for four nights, and we have lessons everyday (even Saturday) throughout. Joy.

Drama at Clifton is taken seriously, we have the School Play, the Junior Play and all 11 houses put on a play in the Lent Term during ‘House Play Week’. It’s an awesome week with 3 plays each night, all 45 minutes long and all with a different cast. The School Play may be the big-brother to all the rest but one mustn’t knock such an event. Especially as my house won last year.

John Cleese, the star of the BBC’s ‘Faulty Towers’ was a Clifton boy many years ago and I am sure he would have loved the Canterbury Tales if we go my some of the old rumours that the school believes.