On Monday 4^th December, the internationally renowned physical theatre company Frantic Assembly visited Sale Grammar School to conduct a four hour workshop with our talented A-level Drama students.

Frantic Assembly have risen to high acclaim with stunning theatrical works such as The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Things I Know to be True and most recently Fatherland which was commissioned for the Manchester International Festival 2017.

Workshop leader Maggie Bain led students through a series of activities which provided them with a detailed insight into how the theatre company creates its innovative and energetic performance material.

Frantic Assembly’s work is strongly characterised by their impressive ensemble work and students worked closely with Maggie who helped them to collaboratively explore the performance environment. Another hallmark of the company’s work is its reliance on physical contact and students benefitted significantly from Maggie’s experience as she instructed them on how Frantic Assembly employ the human body as a tool to enhance their onstage relationships.

The workshop was truly an inspiration and afterwards students were eager to get back in the rehearsal room so they could develop their own performance material. Jessica Cooper of Year 13 described how the activities had generated so many ideas and spoke enthusiastically about how useful it was going to be as her A-level group prepare their final devised piece of the course.

Workshop leader Maggie was equally as complimentary about the students of Sale Grammar School and commented that “the moment I walked into the room, I could sense the students’ energy and knew that it was going to be an outstanding session.” She was also clearly impressed by the students’ rate of progress and on several occasions, extended their learning by providing additional activities that were described as “normally reserved for the most able workshop groups”.

The Year 13 students are currently developing their own devised piece in the style of Frantic Assembly and the opportunity to work this closely with the company was an invaluable experience. Their piece has been inspired by the IRA bomb that devastated Manchester city centre in 1996 and presents a selection of the victims’ accounts within a montage structure. It’s performance promises to be a breath taking event and you are welcome to be a part of the audience on Thursday 11^th January 2018 at 7.00pm in the Main School Hall. If you would like further information about this performance, please contact Mr Townsend by emailing drama@salegrammar.co.uk.

If you would like to learn more about Frantic Assembly and their work please visit their website visiting www.franticassembly.co.uk.