Seussical-The Musical goes to London
On Sunday 29th January students from Warrington Collegiate took to the London stage to perform extracts from Seussical-The Musical in London at her
Majesty’s Theatre, home of The Phantom, for ‘Sunday Night Live.’ Acting troupes from all around Europe came together in an exciting performance of Musical Theatre.
Based on the books by Dr. Seuss, the children’s favourite musical showcased the rising talents of students studying Musical Theatre at Warrington Collegiate.
17 year old college student, Ariane Sallis, from Golborne, who played Gertrude McFuzz and is applying for Drama School said “London was inspiring. It gave me a flavour of industry expectations, but the hunger for more. Thank you to the tutors for making this opportunity possible.”
Previously, the Broadway hit Seussical-The Musical had been performed in the round as an interactive and immersive experience for the audience, many of whom were children from local primary schools. In the all singing all dancing, lively production Performing Arts and Musician students at Warrington Collegiate played to packed houses daily performing 16 shows in a record breaking two week run. Over 1,200 children and 1,000 adults enjoyed the show and the cast delivered 16 free community workshops in local schools.
Emma Garnett, 19, from Winwick, who played the iconic Seuss character, the Cat in the Hat, explained “Performing a show to such a young audience really brought out a different side of my acting. I found the long run tiring but so much fun. “
“As far as I can tell a two week run of a musical is a UK first for an F.E. college.” states James Baker, Course Leader and Director for the show. “We train students in a vocational setting and offer them the opportunity to experience the reality of a working actor. Running Seussical for an impressive sixteen shows allowed them to gain essential skills for this tough industry. They aspire to be top class, professional actors and this was truly a reality experience.”
Jules Horsfield, from Newton-le-Willows who played Sour Kangaroo and Young Kangaroo, said “Maintaining the high energy for such a long time was challenging but it was brilliant and I loved every minute. It’s the first family themed show I’ve done. I loved the interaction with the audience; it makes them feel part of the story.” Jules has an extra reason for turning out a first class performance. Watching the show was her daughter, Shelby Horsfield, 17, also a Performing Arts student at Warrington Collegiate.
Musical Director, Austin Fitzsimmons, Lecturer for the Performing Musician course said “One of our main aims with the course is to provide as realistic a working environment as is possible, and with the run of 16 shows over two weeks, we definitely achieved that. The amount of time that went into rehearsals was clear in the performances, and the students have gained a great experience of how a working musician may go about making a living within a tough and competitive industry. "
It is not the first time Warrington Collegiate’s Musical Theatre have exceeded expectations. Since the course began four years ago, they have won twelve national awards for the standard of their work in Musical Theatre, even being asked by the Learning Skills Council to perform at the National Training Awards at the Horticultural Halls, London. Warrington Collegiate has been rated by Edexcel, the awarding body, as operating far above national standards.
Seussical received some rave reviews including Tracey Lowe, from The Public Reviews, who gave the show a five star rating praising all aspects of the show from direction to chorus and actors, Emma Garnett and Ariane Sallis, saying “ Warrington Collegiate is the place to be for exciting Musical Theatre.”
