EXTRACTS BY CANDLELIGHT: A VERY DRAMATIC PERFORMANCE
23.04.2026HNC’s Year 13 A Level Drama and Theatre Studies students have recently hosted an intimate ‘Extracts by Candlelight’ performance in the College’s Boilerhouse Theatre, wowing the audience with an eclectic mix of short excerpts from across the genres as pat of their final assessed performances.
A Level Drama and Theatre students hone their academic skills in the classroom and their performance techniques on the stage, developing their literary knowledge and creative communication skills through studying a range of classic and contemporary texts. In our annual ‘Extracts by Candlelight’ performance, our Year 13 students showcase their talents in a special evening that brings together the wide range of texts and dramatic techniques studied throughout the course.
This year’s performance included an exciting mix of genres. Act 1 opened with a comedic performance inspired by the famous children’s fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel, performed by Niamh as Hansel, Matilda as Gretel, Emily as Birdy and Tabitha as Witch, and was followed by a dramatic turn by Ella in ‘Bull’ – a piece that explored bullying in the work place. Next came two emotional performances, with the first by Evie, in ‘The Almighty Sometimes’ as a young woman struggling with her mental health, followed by Nathan in ‘Britannia Waves the Rules’, which explores the state of mind of a soldier returning home from war.
Act 2 began with two stand out performances taken from Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’, with Maisha playing Gwendoline, Kay playing Ernest, and Maisie playing two roles across the two scenes as both Cecily and Gwendoline respectively. Next came two brilliant solo performances, with Maisie in ‘People, Places and Things’, exploring the theme of addiction, and Eryn in ‘Bunny’, a piece about a young women struggling with low self-esteem. The night ended with the physical comedy, ‘One Man, Two Guvnors’ performed by Molly and Rowan.
Emma Laws, Teacher of Drama and Theatre Studies, comments “What an audience wowing performance our Extracts by Candlelight evening was! I am so incredibly impressed by our Year 13 Drama and Theatre Studies students who have shown commitment, determination, and unending talent in bringing such a fabulous performance together. This year’s eclectic performance demonstrated the range of techniques our students have developed over the past two years, and feedback from our audience was overwhelmingly positive. I know that these students have a bright future ahead of them, both on the stage and off. Well done!”
New Hey Road, Huddersfield, HD3 4GL
