19/01/2015
15 minutes of Fame
Everyone, as Andy Warhol pointed out, has 'fifteen minutes of fame'.
This week I've revelled in six hours. Six hours of unadulterated pleasure triggered by three consecutive performances of quite simply the finest school musical production I have ever witnessed.
I'm going to go back to the introductory note I wrote for the programme just before Christmas...
'When Fame first hit our screens I was doing my O Levels! Songs, performances and characters that define my final years at school. For me, tonight will therefore bring back very special memories... And create new ones
"What students! What a school! It seems so appropriate that at a school which itself boasts so many exceptional student performers should now celebrate that collective talent in a play about... exceptional student performing talent!"
This is what I subsequently wrote on Twitter at 10.46pm on return from the Opening Night performance...
You do have to pinch yourself. This was as good, if not better than a West End show. As Hannah Baron, our Head of Drama and Production Director, also wrote in the programme notes...
"Tonight, I hope you take away with you the buzz and excitement that only musical theatre can bring, the astonishment that in some of these students' intelligent and heart rending performances and the disbelief that these children, because that's what most of them are, can produce such a wonderful theatrical experience for you all."
Such an important point.
They achieved this mesmerising quality and depth of performance in the context of five lessons a day, five days a week.
So, what have my 'six hours of Fame' taught me this week?
Never, ever underestimate the capacity of young people to amaze and inspire through their talent, creativity, joy and sheer exuberance for life.
'Bring on their tomorrows'...
We have arrived at a moment in our lives
When the future passes into out hands
We can find out, are we really strong enough
To fulfill what the future demands
We can stand on the edge
And look out into space
And be awed
By the wonders we see
We can all make a pledge
That the whole human race
Will become what we want it to be
We have arrived at a moment in our lives
When the future passes into out hands
We can find out, are we really strong enough
To fulfill what the future demands
We can stand on the edge
And look out into space
And be awed
By the wonders we see
We can all make a pledge
That the whole human race
Will become what we want it to be
Bring on tomorrow
Let it shine
Like the sun coming up on a beautiful day
It's yours and mine
We can make a difference
It's not too late
Bring on tomorrow
We can't wait
Long, long ago in a world we never made
We were children who were making believe
Closing our eyes
We were travellers in air
To a land we would not want to leave
But the fairy tale land, fades away as we grow
And we all have to say our goodbyes
And we now understand, that this world that we know
Can be ours if we open our eyes
Bring on tomorrow
Let it shine
Like the sun coming up on a beautiful day
It's yours and mine
We can make a difference
It's not too late
Bring on tomorrow
We can't wait
Bring on tomorrow
We can't wait
Bring on tomorrow
It's not too late
Bring on tomorrow
We can't wait
Bring on tomorrow
We can't wait
Bring on tomorrow
Let it shine
Like the sun coming up on a beautiful day
It's yours and mine
We can make a difference
It's not too late
Bring on tomorrow
We can't wait
Bring on tomorrow
We can't wait
Photos courtesy Waddell Digital.