Theatr Clwyd panto cast member talks to students from her former Flintshire school

Excited young students from Ysgol Treffynnon attended a thrilling pantomime performance and went backstage for an exclusive one to one chat with a former student.

The school took more than a hundred year 7 students to see rock ’n’ roll pantomime, Beauty And The Beast, at Theatr Clwyd and for many it was their first ever pantomime experience.

After the performance, an extra special treat for some of the students was having the opportunity to meet former student, Seren Sandham-Davies, who plays Stacey and Shewolf in the pantomime.  Seren spoke to students individually about her theatrical career and signed their school planners.   

Catrin Jones, music and drama teacher, has been working with the students this term on the topic of Pantomime.  She has been teaching all the key drama techniques involved in this form of theatre, enabling the students to explore these techniques during lessons.  

Seren with Ysgol Treffynnon staff Mark Seale, director of learning, and Miles Gillespie, PE teacher.

 She said: “Due to the pandemic, most of the children have missed out on opportunities to perform, go to the theatre, or see the true value of performance in general. Therefore, I wanted to remind them how important performing is, and the opportunities drama and music can bring to them throughout their life.

“We have been learning all about pantomime in class, so I wanted the students to see first-hand these different techniques put into practice in a pantomime performance. 

“Some students who are currently at dance or performing schools wanted to talk to Seren about them. She was great, so kind and happy to talk to all the students as well as reminiscing with two of our teachers about the time they all performed together in a school production. 

“The pantomime trip has been a great success all round. The year 7s were amazing and made us all very proud to be at Ysgol Treffynnon.  Feedback from the students has been wonderful, with a few already asking when they can go again! 

“Moving forward, I will continuously encourage all students to find their inner performer and help develop their self-confidence to perform in front of an audience. There is immense talent at Ysgol Treffynnon, and I am very excited to get them all on stage for everyone to see!” 

The students’ next task is to write an evaluation of a live pantomime performance, using their experience of seeing Beauty And The Beast to analyse each detail and understand the motivation behind it.