Last night in front of an opening audience of 350 audience members, the 65 or so students involved excelled on stage. They have spent four months rehearsing and it showed.
In total, almost 100 students, parents and staff are involved in the production, which is being directed by BIS Head of Arts Neill Thacker and Moira Lowe.
Among the many stand out performances of the night was Matthew McGoldrick, a year 10 student, who stole the show with his portrayal of the evil lion, Scar. He was incredibly convincing, and everything from his voice projection and annunciation, to his acting was superb.
Year 13 student Shannon Smith, the oldest performer (also lead singer for Battle of the Young Bands' finalists The Bayonets), was excellent as Mufasa, and gave a mature performance accompanied by very good singing.
Special mention also goes to Charlie Greene, year 7, who was the young Simba and played the innocent lion cub very well, despite problems with his microphone. He wasn’t phased by the technical difficulty, continuing on like a true professional.
In the second act, Charlie’s older sister Siska, year 10, gave an impressive solo singing performance as the older Nala lioness, as did Natchonrat Terdkiatkhachorn, who played the wise baboon, Rafiki.
Two year 5 students, Kristin van den Berg (Zazu) and Abbey Lemons (Ed the hyena) were entertaining and gave great performances for their age.
The costumes were particularly excellent, in particular the gazelle and zebra outfits, as well as the headdresses.
On the technical side there were several issues with the performers’ microphones, with many of them cutting out. Also, the lighting meant that sometimes the performers were left in the dark during their part. These are small problems and will be no doubt perfected by tonight’s show.
Overall, it was a brilliant show and the audience loved it – shown by very loud rounds of applause at the end, and an encore song.
Mr Thacker and Ms Lowe have done an incredibly good job with the students and have created a performance that they should be very proud of.
Phuket needs more musical productions to showcase singing and acting talent – it is a great night out for the family.
The Lion King is also on tonight (April 2) at 6pm, with the final show on Wednesday at the British International School auditorium.
Tickets are B100 for adults and B50 for children. For reservations email events@bisphuket.ac.th