All Roads Lead to Hansel and Gretel

Spend part of my summer with students at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival?  Adapt and direct Kneehigh Theatre’s Hansel and Gretel by the brilliant Carl Grose?  Endeavour to sell out at a prestigious venue at the world’s largest theatre festival?  Write and produce our own musical score to accompany a beautifully written script?  Encourage students that performing on the streets of Edinburgh is the only way to sell a show?  Yes to all of the above!

Performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival is such a privilege.  Ahead of the Festival itself, 12 of our most talented drama pupils rehearsed tirelessly from January onwards, honing their performance of a play, once described by leading theatre critic, Lyn Gardner, as ‘a madcap pleasure’.  On 5thAugust KES Theatre travelled to Edinburgh to embark on an exciting journey. 

Students performed our show at Surgeon’s Hall over 4 evenings.  Although we had already sold half of our tickets before even landing on Scottish soil, during the following days students had the challenging task of promoting the show to ensure we sold the other half.  Singing songs in costume and giving out our bright green flyers certainly drew in the crowds.  The cast performed each night with gusto and gall.  Performing to a paying public who have no personal connection to KES was an extremely rewarding experience.

With so many brilliant productions at their fingertips, our pupils also found time to soak up the Edinburgh Fringe experience to the full.  They literally ran from show to show (including a silent disco) so as not to miss out on seeing as many pieces of theatre as they could.

By common consensus, we’ll be back!