Guys & Dolls

1st July 2022

“And the people all said sit down, sit down you’re rockin’ the boat…”

In a fittingly upbeat end to the academic year, students in Years 9 and 8 wowed audiences with their production of Guys & Dolls this week. When the gambling underbelly of New York collides with Broadway’s Save a Soul Mission, there’s comedic scope that WHS performers brilliantly captured...

Multiple casts and a strong and energetic ensemble pulled off a fantastic show, but from the start, it became clear that a few adjustments might be needed for a modern audience. Director Ms Johnson explains:

“When we began reading the script, there were a lot of questions about the behaviour of the male protagonists, especially towards their female counterparts. This fed into a lot of discussion about being a woman in 1940s New York and how that is reflected in the text. Although it might not seem it now, for the time, both Sarah and Adelaide were feminist icons. Sarah, for standing up for what she believed in against a group of male gamblers and Adelaide, who knows what she wants in life and is not afraid to assert herself to get it.

“And then, of course, there’s Havana – one of the main plot points is Sky taking Sarah to Havana and tricking her into drinking alcohol and (in true Wimbledon style) our cast very quickly voiced their opinions on this matter. They could understand that the piece is a reflection of its time in terms of gender roles - but disrespecting Sarah’s personal autonomy made the cast wonder how Sky could be viewed by the audience as anything other than misogynist. So, after much discussion, the choice was made to create a mime sequence between the two characters where Sarah asks to try Sky’s drink and then asks for one of her own because it tastes so good - Sky becomes more of a passive bystander.”

This was a talented, dedicated and mature group of actors wonderfully directed by Ms Johnson and her Year 12 assistant director, Parker G. Mr Lavelle was the musical director, leading the professional band, and students led the choreography and set design. Thanks all! We would write that it’s a stellar end to the year of performance, but the biggest production of them all is coming up next week: did someone mention Speech Day??

Photos below:

Flickr album: Guys & Dolls - Cast 1 | Height: auto | Theme: Default | Skin: Default Skin