Harrogate school's students win Best Young Cast award at Edinburgh Fringe for gender-swapping Shakespeare
“Taking the school’s production to the Fringe was always going to be a never-to-be-forgotten experience for our budding theatre and rock stars”
A Harrogate school head has said “everyone should take a bow” after a group of its students won a major award at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe.
The 25 pupils at Ashville, aged between 13 and 20, were presented with a coveted Derek Award for Best Young Cast after a sell-out six-night run of their ground-breaking school rock musical, ‘Beth.
Inspired by Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the high-energy 70-minute musical boasted an immersive audio soundscape and was awarded a 5* rating by Derek Award theatre reviewers.
Head of Ashville, Rhiannon Wilkinson, said the achievement by the talented group of pupils present and past was made more remarkable by the context of the youngsters’ award win.
“The Edinburgh Fringe is surpassed only by the Olympics and the World Cup in terms of global ticketing events,” said Rhiannon Wilkinson.
“This year it played host to more than 4,200 official shows across 258 venues, and featured artists from no fewer than 71 countries.
“Against this backdrop, everyone involved in this production should take a bow.
“It is an achievement that has rewarded months of hard work in transferring the musical from a school stage to a world stage.
“It was a privilege to be in the audience to experience first-hand this home-grown Ashville drama and musical talent and see it shine in the Fringe spotlight.
“I always believed in ‘Beth and its potential to be enjoyed by a wider audience – and for them to be wowed by it.”
Written, created and brought to life by Ashville's Performing Arts team, the independent school’s production was performed at TheSpace@Venue45 in Edinburgh is a gender-swapped reimagining of The Bard’s classic tragedy through a contemporary lens.
It transforms Macbeth into ‘Beth - an ambitious warrior whose pursuit of power, destiny and desire drives the story forward.
The production follows last summer's ambitious open-air performance in Ashville’s 70-acre campus and marks another significant milestone for Ashville's thriving performing arts programme.
The Derek Awards are handed out by a small volunteer team who review hundreds of shows across the festival each summer and are widely recognised as a cherished, community-driven accolade for independent artists navigating the massive Fringe programme.
Ashville’s Director of Performing Arts, Karl Boyd, said: “Taking our production to the Fringe was always going to be a never-to-be-forgotten experience for all our budding theatre and rock stars.
“But to be judged ‘Best Young Cast’ on such a stage, at our debut at the Fringe, is a true reward for the creativity, imagination, commitment and ambition of everyone involved.
“What made ‘Beth unlike any Fringe offering was its immersive sonic architecture.
“Using state-of-the-art spatial audio, the entire soundtrack was broadcast directly to each audience member through wireless headphone technology. “