Oliver!: It's a fine life at Hethersett Academy

Our production this year was none other than the iconic musical Oliver!, supported by a truly dedicated group of students and staff, it was another phenomenal performance that filled our school community with delight. Check out our gallery at the bottom of this page!

Our stars of the stage were supported by an equally talented group of students that comprised our live band and tech teams, students were involved in every step of preparation for the show, helping to build and decorate our set, rehearsing our soundtrack and planning out timing on lightings as well as mixing the sound.

Unlike many schools, we do not bring in outside professionals to run our sound and lighting or play in our band – everything you see and hear is created by students under the guidance of our in-house team of staff – making our high production standards all the more impressive!

Every year our students raise the standards for our production, continuing to break through expectations of what a performance by students can look like. The professionalism of cast and crew through months of rehearsals paid off once again with three fantastic evening performances and one matinee!

The classic story of Oliver, originally written by Charles Dickens and adapted for the stage by Lionel Bart, follows a young orphan named Oliver Twist through the trials and tribulations of surviving as a young person in Victorian London. From escaping the dreaded workhouse to getting involved with the wrong gang, naïve Oliver finds his situation going from bad to worse, whilst kind-hearted Mr Brownlow tries to save him from a life on the streets.

Our cast provided stand out performances of the main characters with an intimidating portrayal of Bill Sykes, a charming Artful Dodger and delightful Nancy bringing the relationships between characters alive. Iconic performances from the deceitful Fagin and our title character Oliver captured the essence of each character, supported by a talented cast that brought the streets of London to life.

Principal, Ms Diver said:

“The show is an absolute triumph and our children are fortunate to have such talented, dedicated and creative staff to support them. From the costumes to tech and staging to music and acting, every component is at the highest standard and better than ever before.

Every year our productions continue to amaze and inspire, a tremendous thank you to all involved, I can’t wait for next year’s performances!”

Our students have been preparing for these shows with rehearsals since September last year, after finding out their roles from auditions held last June and July. The amount of work and effort that has been put in has truly paid off with four stunning performances showing what students of Hethersett Academy are capable of. Thank you to all of our staff and students involved in the production for once again entertaining all of our school community.