The Life of a Talent Show Cast

Shortly after the end of the Charity Talent Show on Saturday 31 January, I turned to my fellow judges, and we all agreed that it had potentially been the best Talent Show in recent memory. This conclusion is reinforced by a wealth of evidence from all parts of the evening. 

The Charity Committee, acts, and audience began to arrive shortly after 6.00pm, with the Upper Sixth Charity Committee leaders setting up their refreshments stall in the Performing Arts Centre, and our Action for Carers representatives setting up their stall nearby. The Show started just after 7.00pm, with Mr Patterson introducing the charity, and then Sky-Brooke, Diya, and Aashi took to the stage and introduced our first act. The immaculate presenting by this trio was a significant contributor to the brilliance of the Show. 

After all nine acts had performed – featuring a great variety line-up of singers, dancers, dance troupes, bands, and an actor – the judges had a “heinous dilemma” (as Craig Revel Horwood would have described it). Mrs Yankova, Mr Law, and I ultimately awarded third place to the Sixth Form K-Pop dance troupe Break It Down. The silver medal was awarded to Edward (First Year), for his gripping rendition of Shakespeare’s To be or not to be monologue (which made him the first actor in many years to grace the Talent Show stage). The grand prize was awarded to Suruthi (Lower Sixth), for her superbly timed and controlled Bharatanatyam dance. 

The stage was then given over to the Upper Sixth for their annual dance-off. The boys introduced their performance with a video about their fitness training, and their dance featured a series of iconic film soundtracks from Footloose to Stayin’ Alive, culminating with the modern classics I Ain’t Worried and Can’t Stop The Feeling! The girls introduced their performance with a video about a mission that they had set for themselves, and their dance featured cheerleading, lifts, an interpretation of Zara Larsson’s viral Lush Life choreography, and an ode to Tina Turner’s Proud Mary. 

Both performances were fantastic, which made the final result utterly unguessable for the pupils, audience, and judges. It was such a close call that we ended up with our first split vote since 2023. The girls received one vote, but the boys received two, so William collected the dance-off trophy on the boys’ behalf. Congratulations to them. 

I would like to thank everyone who played any role in helping to make Saturday’s show the amazing event that it was, from our theatre technicians to our front of house team, along with choreographers Mr Moore and Mrs Richards. My greatest thank you, though, is for Mr Patterson. After five years of overseeing our Talent Shows, Saturday was his last such event. His consistent support of our charities and acts has been inspirational, and I wish him all the best as he continues to support a series of great causes as a public speaker in the future. 

Here’s to a great rest of the year in the performing arts – a field that has inspired me so much over the years and helped me to evolve from a stage-shy child into an adult who feels surprisingly at home on the stage. 

Mr R. Evans 

Teacher of Chemistry, Talent Show Judge, Head of Ridgefield