Looking for those in School Plays 1973 to 1976

[Chris Grady]

I've been wanting to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Drama Department in Sept 1972 and our time making plays/epics in Big School/Theatre with Duncan Noel-Paton. Although we are a year or so late, I want to see whether we can get a gathering together in March 2024 before we are all too old to move. Here is a list of 540 people who were in the Indians, Faustus, Tempest and or Cain companies on or off stage. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... e&sd=true

I need help. If you are on the list then please take a moment to go to this form and take 2 mins to give me emails/contact details and even a couple of reflections: https://forms.gle/KJZuL29J8yUBxFhR7

If you know other people on the list please pass on this form to them so - by the power of the spiders web - we can create an invitation list for some 'glass-raising' moment on zoom and in person - a chance to cheer Duncan 50 years on.

Thanks so much

Chris Grady (he/him)
MaB then LaA but mainly theatre 69-76

[SandysJ]

Chris Grady's recent open invitation has set me reminiscing about Drama at CH, when I was there in the early 70s.
CH was leaping ahead of other schools in terms of Drama with the setting up of a Drama Department and the appointment of Duncun Noel-Paton.
And then the wild ambition to build a Theatre, a fairly substantial one at that!
After the Theatre came into being, I spent virtually every available moment in it, until I left in July 75.
I am not involved with drama these days except as audience. A year or more before Covid I was lucky enough to see a CH (brilliant) production of Les Miserables in the CH Theatre. This summer I saw an equally brilliant Les Mis' by Kids-R-Uz in St.Ives (their productions are highly recommended if you are in Cornwall in the summer) and this week I took the Grandsons to the EM Forster Theatre at Tonbridge Scool for an amateur (but amazingly talented) production of Young Frankenstwin.
Both the St.Ives theatre and the Tonbridge are half the age of the CH Theatre and probably less than half the size.
All provide great venues but CH's was really making a statement in the 70s. Did the idea come with David Newsome or was the motivation there before he became head in Sept 1970?
We had so many productions, concerts and events pass through it, including making it onto TV with Mastermind (just after my time) with a star performance from the London Cabbie, Fred Housegoe!
What I'm getting at, is PLEASE follow the links on Chris's invite above and let's get some sort of reunion together to share some memories of Drama at CH, DNP and the Theatre.