‘Once in a Lifetime’ was presented by the senior group of Richmond Shakespeare Society Youth Theatre two weeks ago, for a limited run of four performances. As part of the theatre group this is not a review of the show but rather the experience.

 

The play ‘Once in a Life time’ is by George Kaufman and Moss Hart and is a comedy in Three Acts; it is a classic 1930s comedy. It is a story following three characters, Jerry, May and George, and it follows their attempts to make it in Hollywood as ‘vocal consultants’ when the talkies are just beginning.

 

It was performed by the Richmond Shakespeare Society Youth (of which I am a part of) from Thursday 14th to Saturday 15th February 2013 consisting of 4 performances, 3 evenings and 1 matinee. The show was performed at the Mary Wallace Theatre which is a local theatre located at the end of Church Street in Twickenham, down by the river. It is a wonderful little theatre, I loved performing on the stage and watching other productions as an audience member. I highly recommend watching a performance there.

 

I played the part of May Daniels which I was very happy to adopt although the American accent took some time to get used to. I would have liked to write an article at the time of the performance inviting more of an audience however the daily rehearsals and the shows kept me very busy nevertheless I still very much enjoyed the experience. I love being part of the youth group as we have a strong sense of community between us and I can have great gun while doing something I love. I think by working hard and working together and even with a short rehearsing time we still managed to pull the play off and make the audience laugh!

 

I invite you back next year to see the next play that our youth group puts on; I hope it will be just as good as the last one. We would love the support as recently there have been some disputes about the existence of our group and also the Mary Wallace Theatre could always use the support of its local residents.

 

This was the first time I had performed on stage and for me it was definitely a ‘Once in a Lifetime’ experience!

 

By Ruby Penman, Waldegrave School for Girls