The Actor’s Nightmare Shatters the Fourth Wall

The International Stream Year 10 IGCSE Drama class entertained students, parents and faculty with a delightful performance of The Actor’s Nightmare, a short comic play by Christopher Durang and directed by Mr Iain Hill.

The absurd plot revolves around George Spelvin, an accountant, who is mistaken for an actor’s understudy and forced to perform in a play for which he does not know any of the lines. The play was inspired by the dreams actors and performers often have in which they are about to go on stage and cannot remember their lines or rehearsal instructions. The drama ensemble was double cast in both supporting and lead roles resulting in two dynamic interpretations shaped from one play.

Mr Hill selected The Actor’s Nightmare to explore acting styles, ensemble work, theatre history and drama as both literature in performance. The students were excited to perform mask free after a long COVID performance hiatus. Bravo to the all-drama students on a darkly funny execution (spoiler) of an original, clever play exploring the insecurities of performance life and the parallel universe that actors enter.