On Thursday 19th September, a group of Senior School students took a trip to the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough to see one of the many plays written by the famous Alan Ayckbourn at the Theatre in the Round. The name of the play was ‘Time of my Life’, originally written by Ayckbourn in 1992.
Without giving a great deal away, the play runs in three time-streams originating and ending at a family birthday party in a restaurant which has a tragic conclusion. While all the actors in the play were fantastic, there were certain characters that the students particularly enjoyed watching, including a Spanish waiter, a determined young woman and a naïve young man – all of whom added a brilliantly comical essence to the play.
After many trips to the Round Theatre, this was the time that the English Department had managed to book front-row seats. While this meant that they could not enjoy the sweets that they had already planned on indulging in throughout the performance, it also meant that each member of our group would experience what it is like to feel part of the performance rather than watching from afar. The final verdict? We loved
it.
Alan Ayckbourn’s grand-daughter, who is a student at Fyling Hall, arranged for the group to meet the cast in the lobby after the performance. We had the unique privilege of asking any question we could think of. While some people seemed slightly star- struck, others managed to gain some more dramatic knowledge and get to know each cast member a little bit more. We cannot thank Anna and the cast enough for allowing us to have that opportunity.
Now we can only wait in anticipation to find out when the next trip will be and what we will see.
Kate Lavery