The Chronicle, Summer 2019

27 ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE

Grief, Youth and Friendship

workshop, I asked the pupils to write down what they feel and what they think – and I gathered up the pieces of paper afterwards. Lots of the pupils’ own words are in the play – lovely things like, ‘I feel Friday afternoon all the time – I feel opened up.’ If it Didn’t Matter was directed by David Aldred and produced by Katrina Eden. Look for Teddies Talks on Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher to listen to Grief, Youth and Friendship at the Edinburgh Fringe in which you will also hear the beautiful score composed and played live on stage by Sixth Former Henry Parsons.

As you read this issue, our Sixth Form Drama company, Cup & Dagger Productions, will have just completed their run at the Edinburgh Fringe, the largest arts festival in the world, where they performed their new play, If it Didn’t Matter . Through the School’s innovative relationship with The North Wall’s professional and outreach programmes, this year’s Edinburgh company were extraordinarily fortunate to have a play written specially for them by upcoming young playwright, Siofra Dromgoole. In writing the play, Siofra worked closely with the pupils and used their authentic teenage voices to shape much of the dialogue. The title, Siofra tells us, is taken from the book Levels of Life by Julian Barnes, in

which he discusses life after the death of his wife. Talking about grief, he says, ‘Nature is so exact. It hurts as much as it is worth, so in a way one relishes the pain. If it didn’t matter, it wouldn’t matter.’ In the play, young people grow up, negotiate their relationships with each other – and discover what it is to care, and what happens when that love and care suddenly and involuntarily become grief. Deeply moving, timeless and unexpectedly funny, If it Didn’t Matter explores the life of 17-year-old Hal as she tries to come to terms with the death of her mother. The impact of grief on her father and sister, and on her relationships with her friends and teachers, is starkly illuminated. Siofra describes the process of involving the pupils in the writing of the play: ‘In a

Christopher Cornwell

‘A gripping new play to delight punters.’ ‘ If it Didn’t Matter is arresting theatre – well supplied with character and incident – making it ideal Fringe fare.’ ‘Presented with welcome physicality and live music from Henry Parsons, this is a show not to be missed.’ ★★★★ Chris Gray, The Oxford Times

Pictured are Evie Faber (Hal); Ben Courtney-Guy (Hal’s father, Rob); Milly Bracey (therapist Diane Humphreys); Selena Thompson (Eliza); Alicia Bouaziz (Bella, Hal’s sister); Aniella Weinberger (Kate); Katya Jacobs (Fiona, Kate’s Mum); Victoria Iliffe (teacher Jane Vitty); Phoebe Taylor (Penny); Matt Wilkins, (Ned); Josie Piech (Jo); and Assistant Director Caris Baker