Drama students get exam ready with theatre visit

A-level Drama and Theatre students at South Essex College visited the National Theatre in preparation for their final exam.

The group, who study at the College’s Southend Campus, saw a contemporary adaptation of the classical comedy ‘Tartuffe’.

The students immersed themselves in the extravaganza of the production, marking all the director’s choices, making poignant comments about the staging and raising very valuable questions at the end.

Some of the students’ comments included: ‘The acting by Denis O’Hare (Tartuffe) was so natural and effortless’, ‘They used so many Brechtian techniques, without interrupting the flow of the play’ and ‘It’s great how they used dialogue in verse and rhyme only at the final scene.’

This was the students’ third visit to the theatre with tutor Natalie Katsou, who said: “One can now see how their critical thinking and evaluation process has become mature, not only for drama, but also for any other subject that they’re studying.”

The students also had the opportunity to visit a photography and poetry exhibition in Marylebone, observing the combination of creative means with great focus.

To find out more about A-level courses at the College, visit www.southessex.ac.uk