Despite being the School holidays August was an exciting 
and fantastically productive month for the Arts at Sandbach School. 40 current students including five girls had the opportunity to showcase a number of productions in Edinburgh at the annual Fringe Festival. Thousands of Artists and performers converge on the Scottish capital every Summer for four weeks of theatre, comedy, music and dance and this year Sandbach School provided a variety of entertainment to compete very successfully in this cut-throat marketplace.
‘Roaring Boys’ by Phelim Rowland is a darkly anarchic piece of political theatre set in a public school on the eve of the ’79 election. It was directed by English teacher Andy Cargill who also co-directed ‘Lost Voices’ with Drama teacher Lucy Greenwood. This anthology of poetry and prose was an adapted version of a production the students had performed at School in November to commemorate the centenary of the start of the first World War. With its mix of soliloquy, music, dance and physical theatre it proved to be an incredibly moving experience for those who saw it. Both productions were performed five times over the week-long run to the paying public and reviewers alike.
“We’re immensely proud of everyone’s efforts and achievements.” Mr Cargill said. “A professional spirit and 
excellent audiences culminated in a 5-Star review by the Edinburgh Evening News for which we’re grateful. It’s no more than the casts deserve though – they were amazing.”
Amazing too, as ever, were the Sandbach School Big Band who, under the directorship of John Barber, performed five shows. World famous singer Matthew Ford joined the lads mid-week and audiences were treated to an eclectic programme of music from Matt Monroe to Radiohead.
“The thing you’ve got to remember and I bet you’ve forgotten already,” said Matthew Ford at the Wednesday performance, “is that these are school children. There’s this conveyor belt of talent at the School and how John manages to maintain the standard year after year is astounding.”
The venue for all these productions was the very impressive Royal College of Physicians in Queen Street. With its mix of 18th century grandeur, Victorian art and sculpture plus contemporary architectural features the building was able to offer three very different performance spaces. A number of exhibitions and displays were also housed here including an impressive photography exhibition by Sixth Form student, Alex Robinson.
Other productions that shared the venue were ‘Angelus’ (a play written and performed by long-time friend of the School, Caitlin Edwards, and co-starring Old Sandbachian Paul Sloss) and three plays performed by Ut Severis Seges Theatre Company: ‘Posh’ by Laura Wade and ‘Kursk’ and ‘Stockholm’ by Bryony Lavery. 
The world renowned playwright spent the week with cast and crew and was impressed with what she saw. “I’ve seen these plays all over the world,” Ms Lavery said, “I’ve even seen the Stockholm version of ‘Stockholm’ and these productions are really up there.” The theatre company is made up of Old Sandbachians, former students from the High School and members of Sandbach School staff and the three productions had excellent reviews and were the swan song of Artistic Director, John Lonsdale.
The whole venture was the brainchild of two Old Sandbachians, Luke Isherwood and former Head Boy Jamie Sharp who acted as Venue Manager as well as starring in ‘Stockholm’. The two won the admiration of all involved for their energy, drive and professionalism. They were supported by a very strong band of technicians, back stage and front of house volunteers, members of staff and parents.
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