King's Ely Sixth Form student writes and directs his own play!

King's Ely Sixth Form student, Alexander New, is directing and performing in a play that he has written here at King's this week.

Alex started writing 'The Game' during the 2023 Christmas Holidays, and on Friday 13th September his creative flair will be brought to life in our Black Box Studio.

The cast is made up of Alex and King's students, Amy Bungard, Finlay Beeton, Sophia Garrard, Misha Kaminskiy, Ella Kelso, Keira Mavin, and Tara Nathan. Patrick Townley, also a King's student, is overseeing the lighting and sound.

Alex, who is one of our Year 13 Drama Prefects, said: "The Game is an original play which sees several young adults inside a large house, where they believe they are going to be put through mental challenges to determine who is the smartest amongst them. However, all is not as it seems when the person running the camp disappears.

"I began writing the play in the Christmas holidays last year, as part of a National Theatre competition. I have always enjoyed creative writing and drama, and I thought that this would be a fun mix of the two. However, I knew that I wanted to take this one step further by directing it, so that I could see my work come to life. I have always enjoyed reading mystery plays and books, as well as watching theatre productions. I was inspired by a performance of the show, Cluedo (like the board game), which I saw at the Cambridge Arts Theatre, as well as other books I have read."

Alex is studying Drama, English Literature, and French for his A-Levels. He joined King's Ely Prep in Year 7.

Alex said: "This is the first time that I have written a play. I found it challenging to know where to begin, however once I got started, I felt like it came to me naturally and that I was able to keep the positive momentum going. I am not one hundred percent sure what I want to do in the future yet, but I know it will likely involve something to do with acting, whether that be performing, directing, or writing."

'The Game' is being staged in our Black Box Studio on Friday 13th September at 5.30pm and 7pm.

Tickets for the 5.30pm performance have sold out. At the time of writing this post, there are around a dozen tickets available for the 7pm performance.

To book your free tickets, please visit: https://www.kingsely.org/box-office

Congratulations Alex - what an awesome achievement!