By Caitlin Nugent, 6.1

On Tuesday, the 6.2 A Level students performed two pieces across the course of the evening. Firstly, they performed scripted pieces in a naturalistic style, working in groups of two or three to perform short extracts from contemporary plays such as The One by Vicky Jones and After the End by Dennis Kelly.

Each of the extracts was performed in an intensely realistic manner and it was clear that the 6.2s had been working hard to prepare beautifully nuanced pieces. Later on that evening in the Theatre, we watched their devised pieces, which were created in the style of a variety of practitioners, including Grotowski and the Belarus Free Theatre.

The themes varied from hell and war to sex trafficking, each as hard-hitting and emotional as the next. We saw Annia Gray’s head dunked in a bucket of milk and watched as Will Needs placed himself into a piece with only a day’s notice, the entire cast skilfully dealing with the sudden shift professionally. It was clear that all these pieces were a coalition of two years of hard work, learning and talent.