2011/2012 Detective Story

2011/2012

Detective Story

From that cold September evening when we auditioned for the play, Detective Story, by Sidney Kingsley, to our opening night, the cast slowly came together as a close-knit group, rehearsing up to eight  hours a week at first, and almost five times that much in the last two weeks. Between Mr. Shepard’s pep-talks and hours of dedicated direction, we succeeded in putting on something truly special.

For three nights, in front of an almost packed hall, 20-odd TY and 5^th year Sandfordians, along with eight 5^th year girls from Alexandra College managed to transport the audience to a 1949 NYPD 21^st Precinct detective room. With scenes tender and violent, humorous and dramatic, and an ending the shocked, saddened and relieved all at once, hundreds of theatre goers were held in sway for nearly two hours. And the amazing thing is how we managed to keep things going even when there was a mistake (something audiences rarely notice).

On the final night, our hard work and Mr. Shepard’s tireless effort really paid off. The ‘buzz’ afterwards was palpable and I can’t remember how many compliments I, and all the other cast members received on our performances. I will cherish the memory of this play for years to come.

By Marcus Kelly