Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

darthmaul wrote:It didn't, on either night. Saturday was a nightmare though, as we had formulated a contigency plan to hold the Garden Quad scenes in Big School. .

You spotted snakes with double tongue
Thorny hedgehogs be not seen;
Newts and blind-worms do no wrong.

Do they still have newts in the Garden Quad (called the New Quad in my day)?

Yup still got the newts and tadpoles!!!

1955, Head boy David (now Lord) Simon doing a manic reading of Toad, in Toad of Toad Hall, in the old Prep hall?

Excuse the (temporary?) diversion, but what's a Wessex Ranger?

Ploughed through this thread in case I'd already contributed to it, but it seems I haven't.

There were 'Leaving Grecians' Plays' every year I was there, except 1963, when it was displaced by the fund-collecting Festival (just as well, because I'd been asked to produce it, should the festival not take place).
Of the Grecians' Plays I saw, I remember these. There was Toad of Toad Hall, staged in the Prep Hall in (which year? 1958, 59?), starring the senior grecian Lord-to-be Simon.
I forget which year, but that oddball Peter Flynn, the American visitor, staged The Lady's Not For Burning (which no one understood) in Big School.
In 1962, there was a performance of Aristophanes' 'Frogs' on the forecourt (and roof) of the Music School.
I also recall 'Romanoff and Juliet', staged in Big School (can't remember when, or who was in it).
There was also one year (I think 1961) when there was a programme of three short plays including one by Ionescu (The Bald Primadonna, I think) and one by Pinter.
That's five. I can't recall the other two.

michael scuffil wrote:In 1962, there was a performance of Aristophanes' 'Frogs' on the forecourt (and roof) of the Music School.

And here it is!




I have a copy of the Blue which reveals that Boucher and I played Aeschylus and Euripides, but I can't even remember which one I was. Even at the time, I didn't understand a word of the play, and filled up my performance with "business". Pat Daunt's review managed to put a complimentary gloss on it by saying "commanded the long and difficult last scene of the play admirably and held the delighted attention of all ages" - which, being interpreted, means "arsed about interminably and raised a few slight titters".