Meeting Cast Members from Jack Absolute Flies Again
This week we spoke to Year 12’s Rose, and Year 13’s Esme who play Lucy, the maid and Lydia the aircraft delivery pilot in Jack Absolute Flies Again, our Sixth Form Production which will take place on Wednesday 15 and Thursday 16 November – tickets will be on sale soon!
Joining them in the theatre as they rehearse a scene together, it was clear that the actors were comfortable and in character, as they moved around the stage and interacted with one another – and the audience. Working together on a comedy, both agreed it was an exciting new project given that the most recent productions in School were of a more serious nature; but they also agreed it was just as challenging, if not more so, and that it wasn’t a case of “just playing characters ‘over the top’ and being silly, but working out how to get the best reaction and interact with the audience”.
Year 12’s Rose, who is no stranger to the stage having recently played Connor’s mother in the School’s production of A Monster Calls explained how she felt about playing the part of Lucy, a lively, down to earth and rather colourful young maid, “I hadn’t had the privilege of seeing the play when it was streamed recently as part of the enrichment programme, so I didn’t realise what an important and brilliant character Lucy is until I read the play. Knowing what her character is and the role she plays in almost everything! She inhabits all the worlds of the play, and as this is a modern adaptation, she also has a love interest and her own story which is lovely to play.” She continued, “The biggest challenge is timing, in terms of making sure the lines land at the right time and in the correct way, but it’s an enjoyable challenge as the last role I had was incredibly serious – and although also fun to play, Lucy is something quite different.”
Year 13’s Esme echoed Rose’s sentiments having also been in a more serious production, Romeo and Juliet, where she played the part of love-struck Juliet most recently. Sharing her thoughts on playing the part of Lydia she said, “I’d been fortunate enough to have seen the screening of the play last year, so Lydia was a character I was super keen to play – and so was the part of Lucy actually! Lydia goes on quite a journey throughout the play and there’s a balance to be found between going serious while at the same time making that funny – pauses in the right place, expression and suggestion are what’s needed, and I’m really having fun getting to know how I’m going to play the character as we rehearse more and more.”
We look forward to seeing both Rose and Esme perform, as well as meeting other characters from the play in the next few weeks as we join rehearsals and interview other cast members.
