A Creative re-imagining of Angela Carter’s gothic novel

By Mr Stratton (Director of Dance and Drama)

The annual Years 9 and 10 production took place last week and as expected, it was a howling success. After auditions in the Autumn Term, seventeen students were selected to become the 'pack' and were tasked with developing a story ready for performance.

The Company of Wolves by Angela Carter has taken on a cult status within certain circles, particularly with feminist critics, as well as those interested in the rewriting of fairy tales; oftentimes, these two tend to overlap. The story is a retelling of the classic Red Riding Hood story, taking the innocence of Red and the beastly qualities of the wolf, and turning them around. In this version of the tale – Red is a woman of her own agency, who takes the situation into her own hands, and the Wolf isn’t as beastly as he seems; he is, in fact, quite human too.

The concept of rewriting fairy tales is a favourite amongst feminist writers, as it can be seen both as a reclaiming of something originally told by females but attributed to males, as well as a way of giving the women in classical tales the story they deserve, rather than the one they were handed out in original versions. While traditionally, females in fairy tales were complacent, in rewritings, they stand up and take the situation into their stride; either making the best of it, or turning it around to get them out of danger.

The version of the script chosen for our production was originally intended as a radio play and this presented some unique challenges; namely, how to create a visually stimulating piece of theatre whilst maintaining the intended richness of the language. The cast worked hard in rehearsals to tackle this challenge and focused on vocal delivery and ensemble movement - the primary aim being to create atmosphere and tell an effective story.

The performance was supported by excellent designs and installations by our Theatre Design Technicians, Miss Elsom and Miss Middleton. They both worked once again with our talented Theatre Crew students to create a stunning set and costume aesthetic, as well as developing the lighting and sound features in collaboration with the director. All parties involved worked hard to provide a brilliant performance for the audience.

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