Abbey Gate College is renowned for its excellent whole school Drama productions and in recent years we have been nominated for categories including Best Play, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress at the National School Theatre Awards – being recognised at this national level is a huge testament to the outstanding quality of our productions.
Each year we alternate between a Musical and a Play, both of which are staged to the highest of standards, supported by professional design elements. The annual whole school production can include pupils of all ages, including Juniors or it may be a more adult production with mainly senior students; this creates great diversity and variety.
Recent productions include: Bronte, Les Misérables, Blood Brothers (play version), Matilda Jr & Monsters.
‘The standard of talent was unbelievable. I honestly felt I could have been in London’s west end watching it’
‘I have been fortunate to have seen Les Misérables many times and can hand on heart say that last night’s performance touched me just as much as a West End production, if not more’
‘It was unbelievable, and we are still utterly blown away today. Hard to express how amazed, enchanted, thrilled, inspired and grateful we as a whole family have been. I don’t know any other school that would give this much to a child and for that we are immensely grateful’
‘The staging was spectacular—the seamless transitions, the atmospheric lighting, and the way the set transformed to create those iconic moments were so immersive. The cast was outstanding; the emotional depth, the vocal performances, and the storytelling were exceptional’
We offer Peripatetic Speech and Drama lessons following the New Era Syllabus. Pupils have the opportunity to take graded exams in a range of disciplines including mime, acting and musical theatre. Regularly, our whole Speech and Drama cohort achieve a Distinction in the examinations.
Key Stage Three Drama Club is an opportunity for lower school students to enjoy improvisation workshops and build skills in character development, voice and movement.
In the Summer Term students can take part in our outdoor performance in the beautiful College gardens attended by members of our local community as part of our Garden Gala Afternoon. In recent years the Summer productions have been: Three Tall Tales, The Wind in the Willows, Shakespeare in the Garden and Alice in Wonderland.
Our Drama department run a tailored and bespoke gifted and talented programme for students who show raw talent and a genuine passion to pursue drama as a career path. Benefits and opportunities of being part of this programme include: regular one-to-one coaching, interview and drama school preparation, encouragement and support of external dramatic opportunities, workshops and masterclasses with West End industry professionals.
Recently our students have been mentored by our Drama department and enjoyed great success in auditions and competitions including:
The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain
The National Youth Musical Theatre of Great Britain
The National Youth Monologue Competition
West End Calling
Drama School auditions (including recent acceptances from LAMDA, East 15, LIPA, Leeds Conservatoire and The Oxford School of Drama)
