MALALANE – Combine a cheese-and-wine evening with an art exhibition and school plays and you get a great evening out for the whole family.
Staff and parents of Riverview Prep transformed the school lawn into a cozy theatre for the annual interhouse plays on November 3.
Families arrived with picnic baskets and settled down in chairs or on blankets. Pupils’ art was tastefully displayed around the school and platters of food and a variety of wines could be sampled while parents browsed the exhibition.
Father Christmas and his elf arrived on a quad to hand out treats to all the children, to their absolute delight.
The Hornbills and Rollers, the two school houses, competed on the stage to impress the judges, Sue du Plessis, Maggie Ferreira and Tina Withers.
The Hornbills were up first with a twist on Beauty and the Beast. Beauty’s father sets off for town, promising each of his three daughters a gift.
He gets lost in a storm and ends up in an enchanted castle, aided by Willing Hands. When he tries to pick a beautiful flower for Beauty, the Beast appears. The father is shocked by the Beast’s slug-like appearance, but is allowed to take a flower to Beauty on the condition that she visits the Beast when it wilts.
Beauty ends up visiting the Beast but cannot bear to look at him due to her aversion to slugs. Beast courts Beauty, who refuses to marry him. She gets severely homesick and the Beast lets her go home. Upon reuniting with her family, she realises she loves the Beast. Beauty rushes back, agrees to marry him and he turns into a handsome prince. And they live happily ever after.
The Rollers presented Cinderella and featured a group of funky cheese-loving mice and their mortal enemy, Grabber
the cat.
Cinderella has to take care of her spoiled stepsisters, Ravioli and Salmonella. The three girls receive invitations to a ball to choose a wife for the prince. While out hunting, the vegetarian prince and his bodyguard witness Cinderella being kind to an old woman. The prince falls in love. Cinderella’s stepsisters tear up her invitation and prevent her from going to the ball.
A depressed Cinderella is visited by the old woman, who was a fairy godmother in disguise. She gets a makeover, goes to the ball, dances with the prince and leaves a shoe behind when she flees at midnight. The prince manages to track her down and the two live happily ever after.
The judges pronounced the Rollers the winners for their quirky dialogue and great songs. They mentioned that the supporting actors of both plays were great.
Zoë Magwaza as Beauty, and Shawana Bako and Riley Barry as the two stepsisters were crowned the best actors.
Play directors Gill Brokensha and Michelle Barry were thanked for their hard work, the judges for their time, Onderberg Verwerkingskooperasie for the juice and the parents’ association for all the food and beverages.
View a gallery of photos here.
