Drama and Production

At Central Foundation, students enjoy a wide range of experiences and opportunities outside of timetabled drama lessons. It is a priority for the department to encourage students to pursue their interest in drama outside of the regular curriculum, helping to further develop creative curiosity, confidence, passion and experience of the wide range of opportunities that are available in the performing arts. Students are able to take advantage of our wonderful location and attend local and West End theatre productions to further develop their interest and experience professional performances first hand through our range of school trips.

Historically we have participated in the Shakespeare in Schools Festival, Matthew Bourne’s Curtain Raiser and numerous workshops with renowned practitioners and theatre companies including Frantic Assembly and the Donmar Warehouse. The drama department also has affiliations with The Old Vic, The Almeida theatre and Company Three, enabling our students to take part in a wide range of professionally-led workshops, regular theatre visits and be a part of local theatre performances for free across the year.

The drama department runs six co-curricular opportunities across the week including, improvisation club, drama club, devising club, and LAMDA lunch time clubs. These clubs provide a wonderfully inclusive space for students in KS3 &4 and we also run weekly enrichment sessions for our KS5 students.

This year we have been fortunate to be selected to take part in the National Theatre’s Connections Festival. This opportunity will see up to twenty of our SK3 &4 students rehearse every Friday for a brand new play that has been created for the festival, that will culminate in both a school performance and a performance at the Kiln theatre. An incredible experience for our young men that is fostering creativity, team work, confidence and professionalism.

We have also been fortunate to be selected once again to take part in the Old Vic School’s Club program. This opportunity allows our year 10 drama GCSE students to see four plays and take part in four industry led workshops across this academic year. This is an incredible program that really develops the students understanding of and passion for theatre in all its forms.

September 2024 saw the launch of our new in house LAMDA program which has enabled all of our year 7&8 students to take part in LAMDA lessons for free. The program has already developed and we also have a number of year 9 students embarking on public speaking lessons. This exciting new venture promotes and develops confidence, team work, communication skills, public speaking and more. The students are benefiting immensely from these lessons, developing key transferable skills for the future, whilst building upon their Central Baccalaureate hours.

The performance opportunities for students across the academic year include showcases, scripted plays and GCSE devised performances that are open to the public and performed in our newly open performing arts theatre housed in a stunning former methodist chapel conversion.

Winter Drama Showcase

Workshops both past and upcoming:

Almeida
Old Vic
Musical Youth London
Donmar
Frantic Assembly
Company Three
Jasmin Vardimon Company

Year 10 Almeida Unlocked Experience

Past shows:

The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
Tammy Faye
Eureka Day
To Kill a Mockingbird
DNA
All My Sons
A Christmas Carol
Woman in Black
Camp Siegfried
Matilda
The Book of Dust
The American Clock
Sylvia
The House of Shades

Upcoming show (now auditioning):

Oliver