Grease - All Saints’ College - Perth, W.A.

Grease - All Saints’ College - Perth, W.A.

At All Saints’ College we are building a successful tradition of producing quality productions that move away from the traditional performances usually associated with musicals such as Grease.
This year our initiative was to create a visual concept that was more vibrant and imaginative. We decided that costumes and set would be more symbolic and representative of the various decades that had viewed and loved the musical, rather than observe purely the 50’s style. The set was very minimalistic with very distinct symbolic references. Set pieces such as the bed and jukebox were built specifically to create an absurd perspective, whilst Grease Lightning was represented simply by a steering wheel.
In performance style we adopted a more presentational aspect. There were no specific props and we used over the top gesture and mime, therefore the emphasis was on the actor to drive the action.
The concept breathed a freshness into a traditional favourite and was very well received by its audience. After last years’ highly successful production of Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers, All Saints’ College goes from strength to strength in the Performing Arts area.
Stephen Roberts (Drama Coordinator)

Originally published in the November / December 2008 issue of Stage Whispers