Pink Mist 2022
Posted on: October 26th 2022School News
Congratulations to all pupils who performed in the production of Pink Mist during the first half of Michaelmas term 2022.
Best friends Arthur, Hads and Taff were barely out of their teens when they were deployed to Afghanistan. Returning to the women in their lives, who must now share the physical and psychological aftershocks of their service, they find their journey home is their greatest battle. Owen Sheers’ Pink Mist was inspired by interviews with retired servicemen, and bravely exposes the mental scars of war. A talented MGS cast have worked alongside Ms Sherratt and Ms Tetley to use a blend of movement and physical theatre to tell this story.
Current year 11 pupil Jake B-S commented on his experiences of performing in the play: "We began our rehearsals for Pink Mist in the summer of 2022, working as a cast with professional movement director and theatre practitioner Deb Pugh to physicalise particular moments of the text. We aimed to use our own creativity to tell the heart-wrenching story of Owen Sheers’ play through both literal and abstract movement. This was by no means easy to accomplish, but as the rehearsal process went on, we developed our skills, eventually combining the speech and movement with sound and lighting effects to engage the audience with the tragic reality of how war has shaped the lives of young people, and their families, for generations.
"Personally, I have performed mostly in musical theatre shows, both inside and outside of school, rather than plays. I was involved in MGS’ production of Jesus Christ Superstar earlier this year, and I have been a part of the National Youth Music Theatre for the past two years. Pink Mist was the first play I have ever done that was predominantly based around physical theatre, so this was definitely a new and exciting experience for me. There were only 11 of us in the cast, and we quickly learned to trust and respond to each other, and contribute our own ideas to the performance, which, under the direction of Miss Tetley and Ms Sherratt, led to the creation of a creative, complex piece".
He added: "The process was certainly challenging, especially considering that we only had 6 weeks after the start of term to rehearse. For example, everyone in the cast had to maintain focus and intent for the entire show, since everyone remained on stage throughout, not to mention the challenge of successfully presenting the gravely horrifying nature of the subject matter to the audience.
"However, I believe that we all successfully created a poignant and moving experience for the audience, and left them reflecting on Sheers’ message of the tragedy of war. Therefore, I would like to thank everyone in the cast, Miss Tetley and Ms Sherratt, the tech staff, and the Drama Department for making this experience so memorable!"
Current year 13 pupil Joe B-S said: "One of the most interesting things about Pink Mist was the role-sharing; something which I had never seen or done in an MGS production. It worked such that there were four people, including myself, playing Arthur, three playing Hads and two playing Taff, with the rest of the cast taking their own roles. Playing Arthur with three others at first alarmed me, making me think that the differences in our acting styles would clash and create a confused character. However, I found it in fact really enhanced the performance. We were each able to bring our own ‘side’ to the character of Arthur, whilst also working together and learning off each other to really bring out the complexity of the character. It also made interactions with other characters more intriguing; for example, the Hads you acted with in one scene would not be the same in another. This was tough, but enjoyable, and helped maintain focus throughout, whilst challenging and developing us as actors to adapt our performance style and bounce off others.
"The collaborative nature of Pink Mist was also something I had not really experienced before. Working on and developing the piece and the physical movement ourselves, alongside Miss Tetley and Ms Sherratt, enabled us to perform something we were comfortable with, and which we ourselves had had a say in. This really helped us to communicate the moving, tragic messages of Sheers’ work, since we were far more involved and invested in it."
Well done everyone!
