Big School, Whitgift's main assembly hall, converts to a tiered-seating theatre for major productions; there is also a separate drama studio and Concert Hall which can be used for smaller productions. Plays are sometimes performed outdoors in the Founder's Garden.
Performance opportunities exist for boys of all ages, with some productions confined to particular year groups. Auditions are always completely open, which renders performance drama accessible to everyone.
The school has worked in partnership with film companies and provided opportunities for boys to audition for upcoming films.
Whitgift boys have taken leading roles in many television productions, including The Missing, War and Peace, Grandpa's Great Escape and Grantchester, as well as starring in the West End in such shows The Lion King, Matilda and Motown The Musical, and Titus Andronicus at the Globe Theatre. Some boys are also members of the National Youth Theatre.
Some of the recent plays that have been performed at the School include The Government Inspector, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Doctor Faustus, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Boy Who Fell into a Book, Much Ado About Nothing, Lady Macbeth, The Importance of Being Earnest, Summer's Last Will and Testament, The Crucible, Journey’s End and Treasure Island. The School also has a proud tradition in staging musicals, and recent productions have included Guys and Dolls, Sweeney Todd, Monty Python's Spamalot, West Side Story, Bugsy Malone, The Producers, and Little Shop of Horrors.
