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(The Observer - Chichester)
" A suitably haunting production which did full justice to Joan Lindsay's classic tale.It all centres around a turn-of-the-century girls' school in Australia and a disastrous St. Valentine's day trip to Hanging Rock - disastrous becauser three of the girls and one of the teachers simply vanish into thin air. Through music and dance, the piece superbly evokes the sense of being let off the leash which the trip represents, but soon things take a decidedly sinister turn ...In fact, the impact of the disappearances is powerfully conveyed throughout, particularly when the remaining girls turn on the survivor as if she might somehow hold the key to their misery - a memorable moment in a fine night for the youth thatre...a genuinely striking, distinctly unsettling and very provocative piece of musical theatre..."
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(Liz Schofield, Drama Teacher, Oathall Community College) "...Very occasionally a piece of theatre comes along which is totally life affirming and offers a large group of young actors the chance to inhabit fully rounded characters in gripping and dramatic situations. 'Picnic At Hanging Rock' is rivetting theatre...themes of mystery, magic,cruelty and love are cleverly interwoven in a fascinating story... The audience's absorption was further captivated by the deft employment of superb dramatic technique - a rich amalgam of over thirty characters; short, fast cutting scenes; mesmeric physical theatre techniques; a soundscape of live vocals...exactly the sort of material for schools and colleges to explore and realise...It's impossible not to be drawn in as the largely young characters do battle against the direst of human situations as they sing: "Don't let them press you down, you're exceptional, you're a special little girl!"...I took over a hundred GSCE students to see it and they couldn't stop talking about it. I imagine, like me, they couldn't stop thinking about it..."
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