Old Vic Schools Club 1 - 'Mary Page Marlowe'

Old Vic Schools Club 1 - 2025-26

This year, we are delighted to be part of the Old Vic Schools Club once again. This is a prestigious grouping with only 40 state secondary schools invited to take part. Throughout the year, a small group of acting enthusiasts will receive four free workshops from The Old Vic theatre in London, as well as attending four West End shows – all for free! 30 students from across Years 10-12 are part of the programme.

The first theatre visit (pictured first above) took place on Friday 10 October, as students went to see ‘Mary Page Marlowe’, starring Oscar winner Susan Sarandon and Oscar nominee Andrea Riseborough. The theatre describes the play as a “vivid time-jumping mosaic of one woman’s life, by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tracy Letts.” It is fair to say that the production provoked strong opinions with the students, which led to a fantastic discussion on the way home. When asked what they found most valuable, one student said, “I learned professional actors adapt their performance for in the round staging.”

The day before the performance, students took part in a workshop (pictured second above) with practitioners from the theatre. It focused on developing students’ understanding of how to perform drama using in the round staging.  As the play explores the different stages in the life of Mary Page Marlowe with five different actors playing the title role, our boys were tasked with creating interesting scene changes and transitions to communicate time jumps. It was a fascinating and unique session, showcasing the superb opportunities that our school offers Isleworthians in the field of drama. Keep an eye on this website over the coming months for full reports on the other three Schools Club sessions!