Churcher's College

Thursday, June 25

A packed Assembly Hall was treated to a wonderful evening's entertainment on Thursday. Rejected Fairy Tales was written and directed by Alex Lawther , who is 14 and a member of Churcher's College Drama Club which meets after school.

The play is a delightful twist on the Prince Charmings who rescue and save their fairytale characters, especially when these characters are the antithesis of their usual depiction.

Snow White – superbly played by Charli Hanson – is fat and in fear of her whip-wielding dwarves; Ellie Harris as Sleeping Beauty was a dishevelled teenager; Cinderella – Freya Hollis – was drunk and dissolute; and Rapunzel – Katie Hickey – was a tub-thumping feminist whose repeated cry was, "Men are not necessary, we don't need them to make fairytales come true. We must be independent!"

The script was witty, succinct and delivered with love and clarity by all 20 members of the cast.

The direction was superb and moved along at a good pace: scene changes were executed swiftly and unobtrusively: costumes were excellent and the band was good.

In fact, everything about the production was of a very high standard.

Alex used the song, Fairytale by Sara Bareilles, as a starting point for his play which demonstrated the enormous talent that Churcher's College has. It was produced on a shoestring budget and raised £1,000 for the Chase hospice for children.

Congratulations, Alex, what a splendid debut! I shall look forward to seeing your name in lights in the West End in the future!

Ann Pinhey