Pupils wowed the audience with their stunning and moving performance in Oh! What a Lovely War. Performed over three nights (plus two matinees) pupils shared a different perspective on war, telling the truth from the soldiers’ point of view—using song, satire, and dark humour to reveal just how messy, painful, and human war really is.
Directed by OR Sam Hall, our very own Sweeney Todd, professional Music Director Sam brought his experience from the West End working with children on “School of Rock” to develop the score. The original version in 1963 was about the First World War and styled like an old-fashioned end-of-the-pier seaside show. This version was reimagined to reflect the conflict in Ukraine and poignantly included the voice of one of our Ukrainian pupils Siia who went back to Kyiv last year – a reminder to the cast that war is still close.
Our production was set in a war-damaged theatre – half-destroyed, half-under renovation. Like history itself, it’s a space being patched together, not yet whole. Costumes are incomplete. Performers are unprepared. Nothing quite fits—and that’s entirely intentional.
This design reflects a deeper truth: no one is ever truly ready for war. Time and again, those caught in conflict describe the experience as disorienting, surreal, and fragmented—like being half-dressed, out of place, and expected to carry on. Our theatre under renovation becomes a metaphor for that emotional state: broken, uncertain, but still insisting that the show must go on.
So while we honour the original’s use of clowning, song, and satire, we’ve placed it within a more fragile, fractured world—one that mirrors not just the past, but today’s unsettling present.
Thank you to all the cast, crew and staff for their time, energy, and creativity in bringing Oh! What a Lovely War to life. A heartfelt thank you to Director of Music, Karen Hebden, for instigating such a wonderful West End standard production and to Sam Hall for sharing his experience while also conducting Hadestown in the West End.
Related Posts
The annual Senior School Christmas Service, the highlight of the school calendar, is a spectacular occasion of light, sound and deep tradition within Rochester Cathedral. Lit by hundreds of flickering candles, the atmosphere was simply magical as the congregation waited for the traditional Service of Nine Lessons and Carols. The evening began with the Chaplain [...]
The Senior and Junior Schools celebrated our annual Toy services this week. Mr Smith and Rev'd Ruth Pyrke delivered talks on the value of giving and how we can be a gift to one another. At the end of the services, during the final hymn, pupils brought up their toys and we were all [...]
Arthur G and Gabrielle O, King’s Scholars and members of our Removes, had the privilege of speaking at a reception at the Houses of Parliament last evening. The event was sponsored by the Rt Hon Lord Pickles, the Embassy of Israel and the Holocaust Educational Trust and marked the launch of the Survivor’s Declaration [...]
