Theatre at Hurtwood: behind the curtains

Theatre is the extracurricular that Hurtwood prides itself on; powerful musical productions to the elaborate pop concert, we do it all. From the blue chairs in the audience it may all seem effortless and easy (it’s our job to make you think that) but behind the stage there is a whole world that you may not know about.

Growing up I was born into the performance industry, my mum runs a Stagecoach and was a dancer when she was younger, so in a way its in my DNA to be on a stage. I’m sure many performers can agree that the adrenaline rush of performing under hot lights in costume and the thrill of receiving a roaring applause is like no other feeling in the world, however theatre life while balancing A-levels, friendships and physical health isn’t covered in sequins and glitter.

In my first year at Hurtwood I was honoured to play the role of Catherine in Pippin. This was a big mountain I had to climb, I was already halfway up the hill from auditioning and getting the role, the difficult part was up ahead. If you don’t know, countless hours of our days and nights go into producing a show, and once you’re done in rehearsal for the day you go back to your bedroom and spend another couple hours staying up past lights-out practising dances, songs and learning lines. Don’t get me wrong, it is brilliant fun and everyone is in it together so we all understand, but it can get stressful (especially with a knee injury on top of it all in my case)!

On my first day I was warned about how busy I would be doing Theatre, English and Art for my A levels, ,as well as taking part in all the Hurtwood performances. I didn’t take it too seriously and thought “It can’t be that bad… can it?” Little did I know the whirlwind ride I was about to go on. I was determined to get fully stuck into the theatre life here at Hurtwood: I joined the Dance Company, signed up for Pippin, went to dance classes, all while completing A-levels and somehow finding time to breathe in the short breaks, and get my prep in on time. As theatre is such a big part of Hurtwood life, all the teachers are very understanding about how busy we all are, but everyone here is busy, so it’s very common to see a group of people running to class after a rehearsal in their joggers and slicked back pony tails. But sometimes it can all become a bit too much, and I definitely experienced this during Pippin.

Since April 2025 I have had a fully ruptured ACL. When I got the news from the doctor that I shouldn’t really be dancing it felt like my life was over. All I had ever known was dance and musical theatre, so after lots of tiresome physio exercises over the summer I arrived at Hurtwood with a knee strong enough to dance, however my capabilities were hindered. While rehearsing for Pippin everything really began to stress me out. Despite performing since I was two years old, I am still a shy person , so I was stepping out of my comfort zone with a character like Catherine who was practically everything I was not. I was falling behind on my physio exercises and could feel my knee growing weaker by the day. I also fell behind on my art coursework, and to top it all off I got quite sick during the shows of Pippin. Before our fifth or sixth show (those show days are all a blur for me now) I was completely burnt out; I had essays I needed to complete, art samples I had to do, song lyrics and lines swirling around in my head and I had almost no energy to do any of it. But I had to push through… and I did. I had completed around ¾ of the show and had just sung ‘I Guess I’ll Miss the Man’ which is a very emotional song about someone you thought loved you, and that you put a lot of time and patience into, leaving you. I gave everything I had in me to get through that song and honestly I think it may have been the best I had sung it because the emotion genuinely came from within me. I ran off stage and burst into tears, I was completely exhausted and didn’t know what to do with myself. Thankfully Rob, the director of Pippin, came to find me and calmed me down, reminding me I only had 10 minutes left. The health and wellbeing of students is taken very seriously at Hurtwood and I really appreciate that as I was able to have the morning off school and get some proper sleep. And from that morning, I was ok. Of course, things were still stressful but I had little check ins with Rob, Nick and Lottie all the time, making sure I wasn’t too overwhelmed with life. We finished our run of Pippin and after 10 shows we had done it. It was a truly magical experience and none of it would have happened without the talented team behind the stage; Rob, Nick, Lottie, Al, Guy, Elizabeth, Stewe and many other tech staff, you truly are incredible.

Now going all the way to the end of my A1 year, alongside 27 other students, I began rehearsing for the MT showcase: this is a performance only A1 students can participate in and it is a combination of musical theatre songs that all link together under a theme. Our theme was ‘time’. The show was called ‘Hour Time’ and took place in an American high school exam hall where we all sat at desks and completed an exam for one hour exactly, hence the title ‘Hour Time’ with the clever play on words of ‘Hour Time’ also sounding like ‘Our Time’. This was a very fast-paced rehearsal process, learning songs each time we had a rehearsal with beautifully composed harmonies by Nick and then learning dances to those songs, choreographed by Lottie. During the rehearsal process I fell behind on my physio exercises, just like in Pippin, but because of how frequently I was dancing, it was like a substitute for physio, so I was dancing, properly dancing, doing turns and everything. It felt so amazing to be able to properly dance on a stage; it’s a feeling I can’t exactly describe, it's almost like once I get my feet moving and a rhythm in me, there is pure sunshine beaming out of me. ‘Its like electricity’ to quote Billy Eliot. That feeling is so insanely euphoric that I got lost in my knee feeling better.

Before our opening show to the public, I fell over. But this time it was bad. It was the worst pain I had ever felt and was absolutely terrified for what the results would be. It’s a scary experience as a dancer when you get hurt. You immediately assume the worst and expect to be told by an unfeeling doctor who has never danced in their life, that you won’t ever be able to dance again. I was rushed to A&E and sat around for 6 hours until I left at 2 am after not seeing anyone or getting any results. I woke up that morning at 6:30 and said to myself “I have two options : I either drop out of the show and take the day off school, or I get up, get dressed, get myself to school on my crutches and find a way to do this show for two more nights’. And guess which one I picked? I hobble into school and say to Rob, “I’m doing the show” and he jumps into action, thinking of a way that I will be able to perform. We end up deciding that I can be a naughty student sat in a detention desk at the back of the stage and sing all the songs and my solos, just no dancing or walking. I’ve had countless people tell me not to let this injury get me down, however when it changes the thing you love the most in this world, performing, it is a difficult head space to be in. Especially when you have teachers asking what you want to do with your future and you don’t even know what you will be physically capable of doing. So the shows went so well: it was strange watching the show almost as an onstage audience member who knew every lyric and dance move, but I am so incredibly grateful for the cooperation and support of Rob, Nick, Lottie, Al and Elizabeth who seem to always have a solution for anything.

Theatre at Hurtwood is truly something magical, it brings out the best in people and allows us to shine, it also acts as a safe space for many of us who use it our support system when things all seem too much, we turn to the stage and remind ourselves of what makes us happy. At my previous school the only goal was to get into drama college: we were vigorously trained and had little individuality, we were conditioned to believe that in the industry consistency and perfection was the goal. Coming to Hurtwood I’ve learnt the opposite, finding freedom through theatre and allowing creativity to flow was the gift that not many people could obtain. It is definitely a learnt skill but can be unlocked by anyone, I struggled with this mindset as I’d been taught to think of the best possible way and to stick with it, not to find different ways to perform something and especially not to find the ways that are wrong. However, my singing teacher, Nick, has really helped me unlearn this habitual mindset which ultimately kept me contained in a box, restricting the way I performed. Coming back to school after the summer break, I’ve found myself not finding embarrassment in creativity, seeing it rather as an art to celebrate not something to hide behind. Bring on another exciting year I say!