Marlborough LitFest 2018 is underway – launched in great style by over a hundred primary school children from Marlborough St Mary’s, Preshute and St Michael’s Aldbourne primary schools. They performed their own versions of fairy tales in three locations along the High Street.
They had assembled in the Town Hall – for some orange squash, biscuits and ‘comfort breaks’. Then each of the schools pupils performed at extract from their dramas for their colleagues from the other schools – good rehearsal time to get the moves going and the voices going clear and loud.
This was a clever variation on last year’s opening ‘flash mob dance’ with scores of schoolchildren disguised as various wild beasts from Maurice Sendak’s ever-popular book Where the Wild Things Are.
There was time for a mass wave from the Town Hall steps before they got down to the serious business of acting, singing and dancing. Most of the words and the moves had been devised by the children themselves – amazing when you think they’ve only been back at school a few weeks.
Preshute C of E Primary’s Year 4 (8-9 years olds), led by their teacher Mrs Mary Mundy, performed Jack and the Beanstalk outside Marlborough Library. They had walked to the Town Hall along Treacle Bolly – and arrived a bit hot, but raring to go. Their performance included some complex dancing – with a very adventurous lift!
Aldbourne’s St Michael’s C of E Primary’s Year 3 (7-8 years old) led by their teacher Ben Jarvis performed Peter Pan next to Polly Tea Rooms by the Jubilee Centre. They had music and loud voices to help against the mid-morning High Street traffic.
Marlborough St Mary’s C of E Primary’s two Year 3 classes, led by Mrs Gisborne and Mrs Cannosa, presented Three Billy Goats Gruff outside The White Horse Bookshop. They had some good looking animals in their cast and spoke so clearly.
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