This year, JCG Youth Theatre presented the play version of Willy Russell’s “Blood Brothers”, under the direction of our Head of Drama, Caroline Stone, and Drama Teacher, Katie Stirk. The roles of the twin brothers, Mickey and Edward, as well as that of Linda, were triple cast allowing students from Year 8 to Sixth Formers to be involved. Two ominous narrators and a large ensemble were also added into the mix to make the action extra tense. Cast and crew reminisce about the experience.
Having only joined JCG in September, I knew that I wanted to be a part of the school productions but never dreamed of being given the incredible opportunity to play Mrs Johnstone in Blood Brothers.
At first the role felt very daunting as she was the principal part and required me to master a Scouse accent, which I’d never tried prior to the auditions. However, despite the role being challenging and demanding at times, the school production was an amazing opportunity to immerse myself in the school’s Drama Department.
At my previous school (Les Quennevais School), I had played major roles such as Sarah Brown in “Guys and Dolls”, a character whose storyline focused on romance. In contrast, Mrs Johnstone was a deeply emotional role that required me to tap into a new level of vulnerability and helped me develop a more nuanced approach to acting. Unlike past productions the cast to me was all new, so creating connections and bonding with my peers on stage was crucial to the success of our performance. Overall, leading the cast was an unforgettable experience as it allowed me to take on new responsibilities, grow as an actor, make friends for life, and find my place in my new school
As the sound crew, we controlled the microphones, music and media for the JCG Youth Theatre production of Blood Brothers. In order to do this, we had to learn how the entire JCG sound and projection system worked and we would not have been able to do that without the help of James Bailey, who held sessions for us after school to learn how everything worked and helped to create the projections we had in the background. The school bought an enormous cyclorama screen for this to work and a wide-angled projector. For the JCG Youth Theatre, this was an entirely new approach to scenic design. Operating the sound and media for the play was really enjoyable as it helped us get involved in the play without having to be on stage. It is also really interesting to learn about how everything works, especially since we did many things in this year’s production that we have not tried previously.
Ahead of the production, a small group of Tech Club members spent an extra afternoon after school every week with Mr Bailey, preparing for Blood Brothers by learning more about the equipment we were using behind the scenes. In each session, we focused on either sound, lighting or audio-visuals. Everyone found out how the equipment worked and had a go for themselves, doing things like setting lights or changing mic and music levels. This was really beneficial as we each usually specialise in a different area, so we saw what the others do during the show, whether it be in the box or backstage. James’ extensive knowledge was incredibly valuable throughout the lead up to Blood Brothers and we all benefitted from his expertise!
Saskia - Year 13
I was so happy to hear that my final JCG Youth Theatre performance would be Blood Brothers as I love the play. I thoroughly enjoyed playing the Narrator as he is such an interesting character and a challenging role. I also really enjoyed working with Eloise as my partner in the Narrator role and am grateful for the opportunity. This play is definitely a memory that I will treasure forever.
Eloise - Year 13
I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to play the Narrator in Blood Brothers last December. I really enjoyed playing a role so different from my own personality as the Narrator is a dark and creepy character. I also loved being able to act alongside Saskia as together we were able to guide each other on how to navigate this tricky role. The JCG shows are a great opportunity to perform during the school year and I’m really lucky to have been able to take part in so many plays during my time here.
Emily & Sophie - Year 13
Tech Club has always been one of our favourite parts of the year. To get the chance to be co-stage managers this year after working on every production since “Beasts and Beauties” (2021), and to end our JCG Youth Theatre experience with it, was an honour and an amazing (albeit stressful!) experience.
Blood Brothers was the most technically advanced production JCG has done, with the new addition of projections and audio to accompany scenes made by the incredible James Bailey. The tech crew were essential for this all to work seamlessly. To be in charge of organising crew, helping cast and sorting admin for the show was challenging, however the skills it has given us will be invaluable to our future, and to have the opportunity to develop this now is something that we are very grateful for. Blood Brothers turned out to be an amazing show, and we were captivated every night it was performed.
Tech Club itself is something we will treasure forever. To give students this chance to be as involved as they can, despite not wanting to be on stage, is just brilliant. It also gives students a chance to form friendships outside of their year group (we have gained friends for life through tech), and have enjoyed taking on more senior roles within this and becoming the people we looked up to when we first started. It’s something we would encourage everyone to be a part of at some point, either performing, painting or learning skills you wouldn’t have otherwise been able to through the running of the lights and sound.
Walking through the audience wearing a headset makes you look pretty cool! The memories we have of these productions will stay with us forever and despite the stress, we genuinely love Tech Club. Although it is not the focus of our university course choices, we will both still get involved in theatre when we leave JCG. We can’t wait to return next year and see the next generation of techies taking on whichever adventure JCG Youth Theatre decides next.
