Drama and Dance
There is an insatiable appetite for performance at Queenswood, and we are proud to showcase the girls’ talents in our superb theatre facilities.
Around eight shows a year are staged at Queenswood. In addition to public performances of our superb practical exam work at GCSE and A-Level, there are whole school plays, an annual dance extravaganza, and an inter-House Performing Arts competition.
We have an inclusive policy for school plays and never turn a pupil away at audition. Cast and crew for large scale productions are often in excess of 100 students, and during the week of the school play we perform to an audience of approximately 1000 people.
Award-winning LAMDA Speech & Drama and Practical English coaching is offered at Queenswood as a co-curricular activity. The weekly lessons are extremely popular among girls who want to extend their drama skills and with those international students who wish to improve their ability to use English as an additional language. Over half the girls in the school take some form of LAMDA examinations.
ISTD Cecchetti ballet lessons are available to all girls as an extra activity. Lessons are arranged in our beautiful mirrored and sprung-floored Dance Studio around individual girls' timetables and may be arranged as solo, duo or group lessons. For many girls, these classes are simply an enjoyable hobby, but for those more serious about their dancing, opportunities are also available to take ISTD examinations.
Opportunities abound for girls to get involved in the technical aspects of theatre. The 280-seat Clarissa Farr Theatre is equipped with state-of-the-art technology, and many of our productions require complex lighting, sound, multimedia and flying operation.
Scholarships are available for our most committed and talented dance and drama students. Scholars work on challenging projects, staging productions in both the Clarissa Farr Theatre and the intimate Helen McCrory Studio (named in honour of our former theatre patron, who was a celebrated actress and OQ).
