The Hallifordian - 2016-2017

22 I wonder how many students at Halliford to- day would like to be an evacuee? It’s easy to forget that just over 60 years ago during the onset of World War Two thousands of children had to leave their parents and travel to far off places in the country to avoid to avoid bombing from the Nazi Luftwaffe. On arrival they were often billeted with complete strangers. Some of the adults welcomed their new wards with open arms. Oth- ers were reluctant to share their homes or even hos- tile. Historical records tell us that for most young people being evacuated during the war was an ad- venture they never forgot. Award winning writer Michelle Magorian explores these ideas in her nov- el Goodnight Mr Tom . It is a greatly loved novel, studied by many students in schools today. So, it was good news to hear that this year our new drama teacher Mr Bruno was going to mount a production of the story for three nights in February. The plot is a simple one: William Beech, a young evacuee, finds himself lodged with the mid- dle aged widower ‘Mr Tom’ in his small cottage in the country. Initially they are wary and suspicious of each other until time and events bring them ever closer together. It is a touching story which explores themes of loneliness, isolation, child abuse, death, parenting friendship and redemption. If it sounds gloomy, it’s not. In fact it’s a bit of a tear-jerker. And what an extraordinary production it was! Firstly, I must mention the set design by Mr Abbott - Halliford’s resident theatre technician. Mr Tom’s house, where so much of the action is set, was mounted on casters so that it could be rotated with ease by members of the cast. This gave the pro- duction a cinematic feel and afforded the audience the opportunity to see right into every part of the set. One moment we were in Mr Tom’s tiny kitchen, the next William’s cramped little bedroom. With a quick turn of the set the house also became the local church, the village hall, a London hospital and even a slum-house in Deptford. Each scene change was accompanied by songs or historic speeches from the 1940s and this gave the entire production a richly evocative period feel. Another nod must go to Paul Louis Howard who handled the Mr Tom’s dog Sammy with such ease that you forgot it was actually a prop! Howard Goodnight Mr Tom From the novel by Michelle Magorian, Adapted David Wood John Crook Theatre Thursday 23 - 25 Feb 2017 Max Jackson (Zach) and Remy Matthews (William Beech) Johnny Davis and Adam Clarke