Students from across the college came together to put on a memorable performance of the Addams Family musical, which is based on the characters created by cartoonist, Charles Addams, in the 1930s. As well as experienced actors from the Drama & Theatre A Level, students participated in the musical from a diverse range of Xaverian subjects, with most acting and singing for the first time.
Set in their looming mansion in New York’s Central Park, the close-knit Addams Family, whose values of love, honesty and acceptance are in stark contrast to those of society, is thrown into chaos when Wednesday Addams falls in love with a very ’normal’ young man called Lucas.
Students worked hard in their own time to learn their lines, attend rehearsals, create the props and costumes, devise and create the sound and lighting and music students from the Xaverian orchestra played the musical score for the show. It was truly a team effort with every member of the team contributing to the success of the final shows.
Former Newman RC High School pupil, Joyce Ephrem, studies A Levels in Chemistry, Drama & Theatre and Psychology at Xaverian and auditioned for the part of Lucas’ mother, Alice, commented on the experience by saying: “I pushed myself out of my comfort zone in the best way possible, and I feel like I’ve grown, not only as a performer, but also as a person. Performing is something I’m deeply passionate about and musical theatre allows me to express emotions and tell stories in a way that feels powerful. I knew The Addams Family would be such an exciting production and seeing it all come to life on stage is something I will never forget.”
Joyce has some previous experience of acting, however hasn’t previously taken part in a production involving as many people and to the scale of the Addams Family, and commented: “The scale of the production, the professionalism, and the level of commitment from the cast was on another level, and made it feel much more like working in a real theatre. Performing and acting is something I want to continue developing, particularly in the TV industry, whether that leads me into professional acting, theatre or other creative industries, and Xaverian has given me the foundation and confidence to believe that these ambitions are possible.”
Josh Pickering, a former pupil of Chorlton High School, and currently following a BTEC in Music Technology and A Levels in Mathematics and Physics, took part in the production as an enrichment activity through the ‘Xaverian Xtras’ programme, and said: “I chose to come to Xaverian as it is such a diverse community of students, and all students are lovely and incredibly accepting of each other.”
Before coming to Xaverian, Josh had no experience of acting and commented: “I have played in pit bands from high school however being on stage was a completely new experience for me to be in the show and play one of the lead parts. It was such a wonderful environment and the whole experience has motivated me to take part in more shows and develop my singing and acting abilities further. I enjoyed being a part of the show immensely and I feel like I’ve grown as a person and a performer. It has made me way more confident to put myself out there and I’m grateful to have met some amazing friends.”
Eshan Ahmad, who is currently studying A Levels in Business, Computer Science and Economics, played the part of an Addams ancestor called Elric in the show, and said: “As someone who doesn’t study Drama & Theatre at Xaverian, the show gave me the opportunity to experience what it’s like to be on stage, which, for a while now, is something I’ve really wanted to do. The show made me realise that performing in front of a crowd isn’t easy, but it also made me realise I enjoy being on stage and performing even more than I thought, even though the part I played wasn’t a role in the main cast.
“I would say it was probably one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in terms of enjoyment and personal growth. After being in the show, I realise now I definitely want to work in the entertainment industry, whether it’s as a singer, YouTuber or actor, as it’s always been a passion and dream of mine since I was young but, if that doesn’t work out for me, I plan to go into either accountancy or quantity surveying.”
Michael Mitchell, Curriculum Leader of Drama & Theatre at Xaverian, said: “I’m immensely proud of all the students who put themselves forward to a be a part of this amazing show. They have made a huge commitment in terms of giving up their own time during a busy period in the College’s academic calendar. Many students put themselves forward to be in the show to challenge and push themselves outside of their comfort zone and their enthusiasm and professionalism shone through in every performance.
“The Drama & Theatre and Music students worked in collaboration to create a production that is entirely performed by Xaverian students. All students who took part in the musical are sure to leave Xaverian with some amazing memories and experiences that will stay with them into their future careers, and we only have to look at the accomplishments of multiple BAFTA winner and Xaverian alumna, Wunmi Mosaku, to see where these might lead to!”