Working in a Splendid Style
Splendid’s style can be described as theatrical, politically engaged and audience-centred. We use actor-led theatrical tools to tell stories and ask our audience interesting questions. We love precise chorus work, strong physical characterisation, a well-thought-out episodic structure, direct address, original songs, and jokes both good and bad.
In addition to our regular tours, we are also available to come and deliver workshops on all the elements that make up our style. As such, we have a lot to offer as a starting point for students’ own work. All you need to work in a Splendid style are some willing participants, plenty of energy, and a good story to tell.
As well as booking touring productions perfect for live review, clients have been using Splendid as an influential practitioner, as a good example of how to creatively adapt existing scripts (and to view a contemporary adaptation in relation to its historical context), and students have had great success devising in a Splendid Style. As a company that specialises in working with and for young people, we aspire to be a genuinely useful and dynamic resource for drama teaching, and so this section will tell you a bit more about what we have to offer if you’d like to work in a Splendid Style.
- You can license Splendid’s scripts here – these adaptations are road-tested and ready to go!
- Book a Splendid Style workshop.
- Check out our full range of resources at the Splendid Shop, including instantly streamable videos of our past productions.
- Watch Artistic Director Kerry Frampton’s personal history of Splendid right now, for free!
- Scroll down to have a look at some examples of students already working in a Splendid style!
Students from Stonyhurst College performing Splendid’s ‘Jason & the Argonauts’
“The students are absolutely loving this, it’s so much fun to perform.”
Louise Cottage, Head of Drama, Duke of York’s Royal Military School
“Access to a back catalogue of work via DVD, access to live theatre through annual tours and a clear and well defined theory of practice (via workshops and books) all combine to make Splendid the obvious choice for centres following Edexcel at AS and A2 level who are looking for new ideas and directions. Both students and teachers have really enjoyed process and performance while working under the influence of Splendid”
Simon Jones, Curriculum Manager Drama, Wyedean School.
Students working in a Splendid Style
Brighton & Hove High School, ‘Dr Faustus’
“We had great fun creating our performance, some snapshots: the devils were rocking out to AC/DC ‘Highway to hell’ as the audience entered, and they greeted the audience and showed them their seats etc.
The puppets for Good and Bad Angel were a couple of soft toys I borrowed from my children: a dragon from ‘Mulan’ for the bad angel and ‘Timmy’ from shaun the sheep for the good angel. These also doubled up as Alexander the Great and Roxane with an added wig and outfit (instead of using audience members).
In the Pope scene the Pope held up ‘delicious’ food and drink, such as a Pot Noodle (curry flavour of course), a McDonald’s bag and a DietCoke. We added slapstick music to the fight between Wagner and the Clown, and the Duchess ‘forgot’ that she was supposed to be pregnant, so hastily had to add a cushion to her costume.
The end music for the curtain call was Guns’n’Roses ‘Paradise City’. We went with a rock-theme as you can tell! The audience absolutely loved it – and were very complimentary of your adaptation. As always, I thoroughly enjoyed using your material, and the students were certainly stretched and challenged by it too, so very successful all round!”
Marina Ljunqvist-Edwards, Head of Drama, Brighton & Hove High School
Rangiora New Life School, New Zealand, ‘Medea’
“My seven Yr. 10s (13/14 year olds) performed your adapted ‘Medea’ last night to a small but appreciative audience. There was laughter and discussion about the play afterwards. The students loved doing it. A few of them have gained confidence through doing it and that is great. The ‘Grans’ did a rap with one doing beat-box for the ‘Revenge’ song, to which the audience applauded. They remembered to have fun and did so, so well.
Thank you very, very much for generously providing us with such an excellent play to perform and for your cool reworking of the powerful ‘Medea’ story. The Company rocks.”
Ann Madgin, Rangiora New Life School, New Zealand
Stonyhurst College, ‘Jason & the Argonauts’
“‘Jason and the Argonauts’ is a drama teachers’ dream show: incredibly simple to stage (with sufficient creative challenges to make the process hugely satisfying) and extremely effective and enjoyable for cast members and audience alike. We had enormous fun creating the piece and I’m convinced that the members of Drama Workshop who participated in this production left the process with improved skills as actors and members of a creative ensemble.”
Johanna Egar, Head of Drama, Stonyhurst College
Wyedean School and Sixth Form Centre, ‘The Trial’ and ‘Antigone’
“This academic year we’ve made Splendid our practitioner of choice for both Unit 2 – Text in performance at AS level and Unit 3 – Exploration for Dramatic Performance at A2.
September – December
In Unit 3 we made Splendid our key practitioner as we could readily access theory/practice and live theatre by means of the DVDs of Splendid productions. Our students were able to directly link the influence on their own performance work and it allowed them to root their rational and intended experience for their audience in a style which has this at its core. This proved to be very beneficial in the practical and written aspects of this unit.
January – March
In Unit 2 (Section B) we used the Splendid adaptations of ‘Antigone’ and ‘The Trial’. Both texts offer the potential for multi role, physical characterisation, ensemble work and song – all elements which fully fit the demands of performance work at AS level. The thrill from students who were able to blend “tickle and slap” into the experience for their audience (an examiner) is in no small part down to the quality of the dialogue and the flexibility these texts afford to varying group performance sizes (from 3-9) A really useful aspect when considering texts.”
Simon Jones, Curriculum Manager Drama, Wyedean School, Chepstow