The smash hit West End musical and 2003 Jack Black movie School of Rock was performed by a talented cast of students at Bristol Brunel Academy.
Staged across three sell-out shows, the successful production saw a cast and crew of more than 30 students from Years 7-11 taking part.
School of Rock tells the story of the overly enthusiastic guitarist Dewey Finn (Jack Black) who gets thrown out of his bar band and finds himself in desperate need of work. Posing as a substitute music teacher at an elite private elementary school, he exposes his students to the hard rock gods he idolises and emulates – much to the consternation of the uptight principal.
As he gets his privileged and precocious charges in touch with their inner rock ‘n’ roll animals, he imagines redemption at a local battle of the bands.
Students – including a four-piece live band – have been immersed in rehearsals since September, giving up their own time every Monday to hone the production. The band performed admirably in the bigger chorus numbers in the show and sounded amazing.
Laura Harry, Curriculum Leader of Drama, Caitlin Godwin, teacher of Drama and Music, and Drew Salida, Curriculum Leader of Music, who jointly directed and produced this show, said, “We rehearsed a musical version of A Christmas Carol, which was going to be performed in Christmas 2021, but unfortunately that had to be pulled literally days before the opening night due to Covid measures, so we’re so pleased our students finally have the opportunity to be back on stage for the first time since 2020.
“They have worked amazingly hard both front and backstage and we are immensely proud of what they have achieved.”