Seat of drama gets new look

The ‘heart’ of the drama scene at a Lynn school has a new and improved look, following the £17,000 refurbishment of seating at a venue after 24 years of constant use.

Springwood High School’s 140-seater Drama Studio was created in 2000 to provide a home for the school’s theatre group, which had been formed almost a decade earlier.

“Kinetic Theatre started in 1991 with a small group of students performing Murder in the Cathedral,” explained Pete Cuss, who is Assistant Head and Head of Year 8 at Springwood.

“Since then, every year has seen at least one major production (with just a short Covid break), and often students have had the chance to get involved in both traditional and musical theatre. 

“There have also been six major performing arts tours to Australia, where the students have performed specially written pieces in Melbourne, Canberra, Mallacoota and Sydney.”

“So far, there have been 38 different plays performed, with well over 1,000 students directly involved over the years,” he said.

“At the heart of the rehearsals, and often the staging, has been the Drama Studio.”

It’s not just Springwood’s drama students that enjoy the venue, as it is also used for many other activities at the school, which is part of the West Norfolk Academies Trust.

“In 2000, it was converted from a rather drab school hall into a small but very flexible Drama Studio,” continued Mr Cuss. “Lighting, sound and wraparound drapes were installed and – most importantly – tiered seating was installed. This transformed the space into a very useful performance venue.

“It is used not only for drama productions, but daily as a teaching room and often for concerts, talent shows, lectures, and meetings.”

Following the reupholstering of its seats, the Drama Studio is already back in full use, with the venue hosting John Arden’s play Live Like Pigs as its first performance after the makeover. 

Other scheduled events include musical performances, an in-house music competition, and a Christmas show.

“The seating needed reupholstering and padding from years of audience wear and tear,” added Mr Cuss. “It survived constant, daily use for 24 years, but has now been replaced. Once again, the Studio has become a high quality venue which is well-furbished.”