Talented students from New City College have been celebrating fantastic reviews in national newspapers after performing in an ambitious play at the Almeida Theatre, to enthusiastic audiences.
The 13 students and NCC Performing Arts lecturer, Aly Hirji, successfully auditioned for the production called The Keyworkers Cycle, which featured a large community cast in nine separate plays that ran over four days at the renowned theatre in Islington.
Each of the nine plays showcased a particular group of key workers and their role in getting people through the Covid pandemic. There were pieces on teachers, TFL workers, delivery drivers, refuse collectors, midwives, funeral directors, shopworkers, health support workers and carers.
The students and tutor performed in ‘Assembly: The Teachers Play’ which highlighted the issues facing children through lockdown, online learning and how teachers kept things going despite the difficulties.
The students, from NCC campuses including Redbridge and Hackney, performed brilliantly and felt they learnt so much from working with others in the community and being involved in such a large production. They had fantastic reviews from critics writing for the Stage website, the Guardian, and the Evening Standard.
Lecturer Aly Hirji said: “We are proud of the achievements of all our students. This was a brilliant opportunity for them to showcase their skills in a large theatre. We played to a sold-out audience and it was a great success.”
Performing Arts student Akamanha Mendes said: “It has been a pleasure to work with other students on this production. The whole process was exciting and I can’t wait for the next one!”
Principal of Redbridge and Epping Forest Campuses, Narzny Khan, said: “Well done to Aly and the team. The production looked absolutely amazing.”