December 1932 - Southgate County School

Southgate County School Magazine £}1
member of the Cast, at the last minute, owing to a sharp attack of
influenza.
•
It is not permitted to the writer of these notes to judge
whether "Wayside War" was a success or not—the reader will
have his or her private opinion about that. But the Society conclusively
demonstrated that its standard had at least not fallen on
the previous year by going to the Enfield Musical Festival in
January and once more bringing the Dramatic Cup back to the
School. The scene chosen and presented was the "Marriage of
Petruchio," from the "Taming of the.Shrew." This was the
second consecutive occasion on which the Society has taken the
Cup, and it will not fail to make every effort to achieve this
success yet again in 1933.
The progress of the Society is further displayed by the fact
that it is now tackling the many difficulties of Bernard Shaw's
"Arms and the Man." The production is due early in December.
As they did not come from his pen,the present writer ventures to
quote the concluding sentences from last year's notes :—
"The only complaint made by the Dramatic Society is
that it is ambitious to do more than at present, i.e. December,
1&31, and hopes in the near future to present a full
evening's performance. We have the talent and the enthusiasm—-we
need only the opportunity,"
This opportunity was granted, and the Society has immediately
demonstrated its ambition by selecting as its author "Shaw,"
who, himself in one of his prefaces, declares that his works are
unplayable; it has very vigorously demonstrated its enthusiasm
by undertaking to prepare the play in less than four months; and
the Society is confident that the cast of "Arms and the Man" will
have proved before this reaches the readers' hands that it has
talent.
It is with regret that the Society records the loss of four
prominent members : Joan Ennals, R. Ewin, R. Holloway and
T. Mobbs. The good wishes of the Society follow them wherever
they may be.
* * *
THE VERSE SPEAKING CHOIRS.
The above plural is no printer's error, for, in addition to the
original Verse Speaking Choir which, like the brook, goes on for
ever, several offspring came into being during the Spring and
Summer Terms. This was due to the enthusiasm of the then
Second Forms, who responded splendidly to the challenge of the
Enfield _ and Polytechnic Festivals, and sent no less than three
choirs into the field, one consisting of boys only. In spite of
their short period of training they did remarkably well.
The Verse Speaking Choir proper continued its activities
throughout the Winter and Spring Terms, and presented a programme
of lyric and ballad items at the Christmas Concerts,
though the limited time at our disposal rather cramped our style.
The Choirs all entered for the Enfield Festival, the Second
Forms doing very well again, and the "Squeakers" carrying off