Lower School Theatre Academy brings Grimm’s stories to life

Centuries-old folk stories were brought to life by the Lower School Theatre Academy in its inaugural showcase production, Grimm Tales.

The pupil-devised performance began with five boys discovering a mysterious chest in the woods. Disappointed to find an old storybook instead of treasure, they begin reading the Grimm tales within — unlocking a world of eerie forests, where lost children outwit witches and wolves, and kingdoms shaped by cunning animals, strange enchantments and magical transformations.

In just seven weeks, pupils worked from Philip Pullman’s adaptations of the original Grimm stories — Rapunzel, The Three Snake Leaves, The Frog King, Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood and Hans-my-Hedgehog — to create their own interpretations of the traditional tales.

Throughout rehearsals, the Drama Department delivered workshops on theatrical techniques such as characterisation, movement, actor–audience interaction and the suspension of disbelief, before pupils applied these ideas to the development and staging of their own pieces. The result was an imaginative and atmospheric production, brought to life through clever use of props and the pupils’ own winning performances.