On 23 May 2019, a coach load of Year 10 students made their way to the Mercury Theatre in Colchester to see a stage performance of the novel “The Sign of Four”.

The novel by Arthur Conan Doyle was the second to feature his dynamic duo of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. The complex story is one that our GCSE English Literature students study during Year 10.

We were all intrigued to see how the theatre company was going to stage some of the trickier parts of the story - there’s a boat chase at one point! The stage set was really clever with lots of moveable sections to create new scenes. The play was mostly faithful to the novel although some aspects were especially highlighted.

Unfortunately neither Toby the dog or the character of Tonga made an appearance! Our students were superb ambassadors for the school and a great time was had.

Some of the students said:

“The set was amazing”

“I can’t believe there were only 6 actors”

“Where was Toby?”

Thanks to Miss Bailey, Miss Mullen and Mrs Mer for accompanying the students.

Mrs S Moodie

English Teacher