Celebrating The Class of 2009 - (2) On Stage

Drama, arguably the best team game of all, has proved such an enjoyable and major part of so many Bablake pupils' co-curricular activity over the years, and, of course, this summer we will be celebrating our school's 30th consecutive production at the Edinburgh Fringe - surely a unique achievement.

We thank the Class of 2009 for its involvement in so many productions, rehearsals or workshops over the past seven years. This year alone we have seen Amanda Attariani, James Horton, Grace Jastrzebski, Kirat Johal, Lawson Moore, Jake Morton, Matt Rowlands, Chris Tuttle and Grace Wye star as directors, actors or stage managers in outstanding A level drama, the impressive House Drama Festival or an intriguing, innovative production of 'Sherlock'.

One person missing above is Matt Hayhurst, recent lead in 'The Musicians' and director of Wheatley House's drama production in March. Of course, he first came to Bablake's notice for public speaking as a 'Voice for the Future' in the Shells in November 2009, and then for his performance as Arthur in 'King John' with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2012. From the Shells through to the Upper Sixth, his devotion to performance has been outstanding, but like so many Bablake students, what he has achieved in school is not the whole story! 

While drama is the major love of his life, Matt has proved himself talented in many other areas. In the Scouts, he has achieved the Chief Scout’s Gold Award before moving to Explorers. As a musician, not only has he been a fine school performer, but, as member of the Bulkington Silver Band, he has played the cornet in many concerts in North Warwickshire for several years. Both these activities have been on hold recently to focus on academic work and acting, but Matt is also looking to achieve Grade 8 in the French horn and complete his Gold Duke of Edinburgh award during the summer. This should prove no problem for someone who, at short notice, represented Bablake so ably at a Rising 2016 debate at the start of the calendar year.

He has also completed research at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust archives as part of a team writing and recording an audio trail app for the Welcombe Hills Country Park, north of Stratford. This was a joint project between the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust and Playbox Theatre, Warwick, and the audio guide was launched this April with the team presenting outdoor performances of scenes from Shakespeare along the walking trail.

Matt enjoyed a tour to Los Angeles with his drama group, including ‘street theatre’ in Santa Monica and a Halloween party with movie stars! This summer, he will be going back to California, this time to San Francisco, to take part in a joint venture with a theatre group based there.

He is a founding member of the Ustinov Theatre School in the UK. Since September 2015, he has been working through acting and theatre disciplines: movement, voice, song, circus and multidisciplinary performance technique. In early July, students from the school will stage an original production created especially for them which will be attended by representatives of the Sir Peter Ustinov Foundation, based in Frankfurt.

With friends, Matt is developing and acting in a stage version of 'Posh' (filmed as 'The Riot Club') which will be performed in May with author Laura Wade in the audience. As part of the Shakespeare Young Company, he has also appeared in several major productions at Playbox Theatre, including 'Macbeth', 'The Winter’s Tale' and 'Romeo and Juliet'.

He has just been awarded a Vice-Chancellor's Scholarship for students with exceptional artistic, creative or sporting talent from the University of Bristol. His award for drama offers a further incentive to attain the highest grades possible when he sits his final A level papers in the next few weeks.

We congratulate Matt and his peers on their outstanding ability in so many areas and wish them all the best for the future.