The Centre of Excellence for Performing Arts Captivates Audiences with Chess
After the success of Dracula: The Musical back in November, The Centre of Excellence for Performing Arts at Cronton Sixth Form College once again wowed audiences with their spectacular follow up production, Chess.
The show starred talented students Ritchie Redmond (from Runcorn), Bethany Horan (from Warrington), Maggie Clarke (from Liverpool), Daniel Sempie, Olivia Humphries, Liam Smith, and Reuben Austin (all from Widnes).
The story tells of a politically driven chess tournament set in the Cold War-era, between an American grandmaster and a Soviet grandmaster, and their fight over a woman who manages one and falls in love with the other.
The show contains music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, formerly of ABBA, with lyrics by Tim Rice.
Running on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd of July, tickets were completely sold out. A daytime matinée performance also took place on the 2nd to an audience of pupils from Wade Deacon High School.
Matt Plant, Head of the Centre of Excellence for Performing Arts, said “The show was a huge success, relying on the commitment and maturity of exemplary students throughout. It sees us come to the end of a year of celebration marking the fifth anniversary of the centre of excellence and equally sees us looking forward to the next five years.
“We will be kicking off the student experience in the next academic year with another trip to New York to see Alfie Boe in the Broadway revival of Les Miserables.”