Scotch College

A Voyage Round My Father

The busiest year of Scotch Drama yet, began on the 11 May, with the opening of the first Senior Play 'A Voyage Round My Father'.

Held in the Scout Hall, in conjunction with Ruyton Girls School, over three action-packed evenings, this play was an hilarious, yet heartfelt tale of a boy growing up around his rather eccentric blind father. Written by John Mortimer, the author of 'Rumpole of the Bailey', the play is semi-autobiographical, and full of caricatured cameo appearances.

Needless to say, the play was a huge success, especially amongst the predominantly adult audiences, who were captured by the subtle British humour evident in the script. In fact all performances were sold out, the Friday night filling the venue to one and half times it's capacity, which further highlighted the growing need for the proposed James Forbes Academy.

Directed by Mr David Mustafa, who was ably assisted by Ms Keiron Jones and Mrs Sue Ward, the production ran without a hitch over all three nights, flowing in a smooth uninterrupted manner, as a result of some creative and strategic staging.

The fantastic set provided a great sense of ambience, and was put together by Mr Hunter McWhinney and his construction crew.

Undoubtedly, the biggest strength of the show was the consistent acting ability across the entire cast. Eight Scotch boys and five Ruyton girls worked tirelessly with Mr Mustafa for over two months to bring to life a total of thirty-six extremely complex characters.

The final result was a production, which in the words of Mr Mustafa, 'has changed the face of Drama at Scotch forever'.

Brendan Ferguson, Captain of Drama