Last week, Drama Scholars from Third Form through to Sixth Form gathered to make the journey to the specially designed Starlight Auditorium at Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre.
Supporting local theatre, the focus for this visit was on Technical and Design elements of production: the staging, lighting, sound, and costumes. Audience members were immersed in a world of speed and song in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Starlight Express. Thanks to Mr Hoyle, Mr Gimmi and Mrs Chamberlain for accompanying the students on the trip. Two of our new Drama Scholars, Mahir S and Markus F, write their reviews on the production below.
writes Markus F. (Fourths):
The show is known for being entirely on wheels, with every character being either on roller-skates or on a scooter. One thing that immediately stood out to me was the stage. There was a ramp in the centre and two on the sides. The aisles were made and designed so that the actors could skate through and around the audience. This meant that we had an incredibly immersive experience. This show is also known for its incredible Lighting and Sound effects. In fact, we were told it has a more expensive sound design than any West End production. With lights coming down from the ceiling, cameras filming the actors as they skated around the whole theatre so you could always keep track of them, this show was incredibly impressive. One of my favourite details in this show was that the character called Electra (an electric train) had light-up wheels on her roller-skates. As there were a lot of scenes where characters were racing together, each of the actors had rungs on their costumes so that other actors could hold on to them to stay together. Overall, this was an amazing show, and I would recommend it. Be aware though, in my opinion, this musical isn’t one that is good because of the story – it is because of the special effects and the immersive experience.
writes Mahir S. (Fourths):
This Andrew Lloyd Webber musical had been adapted in a way that includes the audience in a magical world. The staging was amazing, it had a high-speed track that winds its way around the theatre. The cast had a connection with the audience, enabling performers to glide and race between scenes and throughout the audience which made this musical feel unique. The lighting was exceptional, probably some of the best stage lighting in a musical I have ever seen. My favourite section of the musical was one of the last numbers when the whole audience fell quiet as hundreds of lights came down emerging us in the story. The costumes were also great; cleverly designed to cover the personalities of each of the characters and to give the characters a more futuristic feel. The musical numbers were very catchy and had us all singing them all the way home.
