Drama provision at Hampton School is superb, allowing boys to fulfil their potential and pursue their interest in the theatre, whether it is on stage, in the director’s chair or behind the scenes in a technical capacity. A wide range of school productions are staged throughout the year and are open to all ages.
National Theatre Live
Hampton School is an accredited venue for NT Live screenings allowing boys and the Hampton community affordable access to world class theatre. The Hammond Theatre
Facilities
The School offers outstanding facilities for Drama productions
The Hammond Theatre
Our professional standard theatre is a venue to rival any school in the country and offers the perfect environment for a wide range of performances. It seats 380 people, is fully equipped with state-of-the-art lighting and sound technology and is run by a full time technical team.
The Drama Hall
Situated in the Garrick building, the hall is used as a performance space, rehearsal and teaching room and as a venue for drama workshops by visiting professional practitioners. The Drama Hall also has a lighting rig and a range of audio-visual equipment.
Dance Studio
Hampton also offers an excellent dance studio with mirrored walls and wooden sprung floor which is used for academic lessons and co-curricular work. Dances for the School’s biennial musical are rehearsed in the studio, and during lessons it is used as a facility for chorus and movement work.
National Student Drama Festival
Hampton regularly submits shows to this festival. Productions are student led and usually consist of sixth formers. Hampton has been successful in its entries, with productions often being short listed.
Musicals
These extremely popular musicals are performed as a joint production with LEH every year. All year groups are encouraged to take part and competition for principle roles is very strong.
Lower School play
Boys from First to Third Year are given the opportunity to participate in this annual production.
At the start of the rehearsal process, boys take part in a workshop led by a visiting community playwright. This culminates in an original script being written for the cast by the playwright, tailored to the characteristics of the group, and performed at the end of the Autumn term.
Middle School Play
Once a year boys from Third and Fourth Year join forces with Waldegrave Girls’ School to produce a summer play which is performed in The Hammond Theatre. Previous productions include: The Diary of Anne Frank and Great Expectations.
Upper School Play
Every other year, boys from the Fifth Year upwards team up with girls from The Lady Eleanor Holles School to take part in a play which has an original music score composed by our budding musicians. Previous productions include: The Tempest and Agamemnon.
Sixth Form Play
There is the opportunity for Sixth Form dramatists to perform a play in the spring term. This can be either a student or teacher led production.
Junior Drama Club
Open to all boys in the first, second and third year, this club meets during lunchtime, once a week. Students work on their improvisation and performance skills through a series of games and exercises. The group produce an annual performance staged in the Autumn or Summer Term.
Technical Theatre Club
The students meet once a week and learn how to operate and programme the latest lighting and sound equipment in the 450 Hall. Students participating in this club will be under continual guidance and supervision by the Technical Manager.
Musical Theatre Dance Club
This club is a fun and energetic way for Hampton boys and LEH girls to learn a variety of musical theatre dance styles from West Side Story to tap and swing. Open to all abilities, from total beginners to those who feel they may already have rhythm and style.
Trips
Each student studying Drama will visit the theatre at least once during the year to watch and evaluate a live professional performance.
National Student Drama Festival
Lower Sixth students studying AS Level Drama and Theatre Studies attend the National Student Drama Festival every year. This is a seven day festival in Scarborough where students get the opportunity to take part in workshops led by professionals from the Acting and Theatre industry, watch a wide variety of original productions (up to three a day) and contribute to daily discussions where the performances from the previous day are discussed with the cast and crew.
