Congratulations to Third Year Drama scholar Edward Molony, who recently starred in five sold-out performances of panto Beauty and the Beast with the Pratts Bottom Dramatic Society.
He played ‘Brie’, a principal character who is the Dame’s son and Belle’s best friend. In this role he had to carry the jokes, sing and had lots of comedy set pieces including a pun-filled bread scene which always got a huge applause.
Edward explains how the opportunity came about, “Before I joined Trinity I was in the pantomime Aladdin at the Beckenham Theatre, where I played several small roles. It was directed by a man called Michael Darbon who used to be a producer at the BBC. Sadly, the theatre was sold and closed down over Covid. However, last Summer Mike got back in touch, inviting me to audition for a production of Beauty and the Beast he was directing with the Pratts Bottom Dramatics Society.
“Arriving at auditions I was really nervous because, it was packed with people and, being new to the society, I didn’t know anyone. However, the auditions ended up going well, and despite stiff competition, a few weeks later I found out I’d got a really good part – Brie (the Buttons-style sidekick character).
“Compared to the Beckenham Theatre, there were a lot of rehearsals and we started in September for a January show. This made the final performance period really rewarding, especially because being in a pantomime has a real ‘family feel’ to it. In addition, the sound and lighting were designed by a man who worked on Wicked in the West End, so it was amazing to see the stage be transformed into a beautiful set.
“As Brie, I had a lot of set piece comedy and dance routines, so I learnt a huge amount about audience interaction and comic timing, that will hopefully come in useful with future drama productions at Trinity and elsewhere.”
Well done!
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