Lionboy: A story of courage and compassion

The Junior Years production of Lionboy, written by Zizou Corde, ran for three days and was chosen for its theatricality and playful style. For those not familiar with the story, it tells the tale of a young and courageous protagonist, Charlie Ashanti.

The play was directed by professional Director and Old Whitgiftian, Matthew Dann. The story opens with Charlie, played by Seyi Andes-Pelumi (Second Form), and each character introducing themselves to the audience, and throughout the play the audience is treated to characters speaking to them aside, sharing their thoughts through soliloquy.  

Charlie’s journey begins when his parents go missing and he embarks on a rescue mission and a battle against an organisation known as The Corporacy. The Performing Arts Centre was transformed into a platform of different worlds, with a diverse cast of characters including Sergei (Danny Montgomery), a cat from Wigan named after the Russian composer  and Ninu (George Pang), a multi-lingual chameleon, both played by First Form students. Charlie finds refuge at a floating circus, led by Major Tib (Third Former Rourke Mooney) where he meets the lions he promises to return to Africa. Throughout his journey, he is chased by endearing adversary, Rafi Sadler (Second Former Ethan Carmalt), who is employed by The Corporacy to capture him.

The Junior cast did an impressive job, with many of them having learnt long and complex lines as well as successfully adding humour to parts of their characters. The movement from the cast, particularly during the escape scenes, were masterfully executed, and the drums played in the background by Lower Sixth Form student, Milo Weaver, was a clever addition.

The School would like to thank all the students and staff involved in this wonderful production, and a special thanks to Matthew Dunn and Movement Director, Ioli Filippakopoulou for coming to the School to share their expertise.