Successful Junior Production

The Rebels of Gas Street by Jan Needle is a challenging, funny and poignant show which tells the story of the school children who went on strike in 1911 across the United Kingdom.

This year’s Junior Production, an ensemble, directed by Miss E Gleeson, Ms C Walsh and Dr J Luton involved 37 students on stage throughout the play.

As the play is about class divide, the Fanshawe family remained in their own realistic set in the orchestra pit while the other actors created their own acting space on stage. The students were committed to their roles and brought the humour and sadness alive with their enthusiasm.

One member of the audience, a professional actor wrote that:

I thought the cast did a great job of bringing the story to life and you directed them very well. It's great to see such a large ensemble, and they all brought a lovely energy to their roles and kept acting throughout, which I loved. I particularly enjoyed the policeman and narrators, the set and back projection.

The World Economic Forum suggests that among the top twenty skills that will be required by the workforce in 2020 are creativity, critical thinking and emotional intelligence. Certainly as directors we experienced the mature and sensitive way in which our students dealt with the subject matter and contributed creatively to the production.

Many thanks to the numerous backstage crews and staff who helped produce the show and the staff: Mrs B Jones, Mrs K McConnel, Mrs S Humphreys, Mrs S Layec, Mrs J Durham, Mr C Malone, Mrs T Mair, Mrs R Martinez, Mrs D Viljoen, Mrs P Cook, Mrs B Cleave-Marra, Miss R Patterson, Mr T Davidson and Mr T Williams and Mr T Luton, and to Jude Maneveldt (Hillary House) who designed the poster.

Actors taking part:

Sameer Athi Venkata (Kupe), Kiahn Barnfield-Quiding (Te Kanawa), Darsh Chaudhari (Batten), Katya Davidson (Te Kanawa), Candace Davy (Kupe), Chloe Dove (Upham), Dinithi Ediriwickrama (Upham), Jessica Fajardo (Te Kanawa), Bailey Fleming (Kupe), Annelise Frewin (Rutherford), Alyse Goodyer (Te Kanawa), Caitlin Hayward (Kupe), Carlos Leyva Espinoza (Hillary), Sophia Lim (Snell), Zoe Lynd-Jones (Hillary), Kelsey Martin (Mansfield), Danika Money (Hillary), Travers Motuliki (Rutherford), Ryan Nowacki (Mansfield), Vacha Patel (Batten), Amanda Pu (Hillary), Nancy Qiang (Upham), Tiffany Rodrigo (Hillary), Caitlin Roper (Mansfield), Serena Scott (Rutherford), Sukaina Sheikh (Rutherford), Eric Song (Kupe), Danvis Tornquist (Snell), Zalia Tornquist (Snell), Jinal Verma (Upham), Althea Victorio (Kupe), Samuel Willcock (Kupe), Flora Wong (Rutherford), Roger Yang (Upham), Cynthia Yin (Hillary), Sarujan Yogeswaran (Mansfield), Tony Zhou (Batten).