Current and former pupils at Harrogate’s Ashville have won a ‘Best Young Cast’ award following their debut at the Edinburgh Fringe.
The 25 performers, aged between 13 and 20, received the accolade from the independent Derek Awards after a sell-out six-night run of their school-created rock musical, ‘Beth.
The 70-minute production, inspired by Shakespeare’s Macbeth, was performed at TheSpace@Venue45 and also received a five-star rating from Derek Awards reviewers.
Written and created by Ashville’s Performing Arts team, the musical reimagines the tragedy with a female lead – an ambitious warrior whose pursuit of power, destiny and desire drives the story.
Head of Ashville, Rhiannon Wilkinson, said:
“Against this backdrop, everyone involved in this production should take a bow. It is an achievement that has rewarded months of hard work in transferring the musical from a school stage to a world stage.
“It was a privilege to be in the audience to experience first-hand this home-grown Ashville drama and musical talent and see it shine in the Fringe spotlights.
"I always believed in ‘Beth and its potential to be enjoyed by a wider audience – and for them to be wowed by it.”
The independent, grassroots Derek Awards have recognised shows and performances at the Fringe for two decades. A small volunteer team reviews hundreds of productions across the festival each summer.
The Edinburgh run followed an open-air performance of the musical on Ashville’s 70-acre campus last summer.
Ashville’s Director of Performing Arts, Karl Boyd, said:
“Taking our production to the Fringe was always going to be a never-to-be-forgotten experience for all our budding theatre and rock stars.
“But to be judged ‘Best Young Cast’ on such a stage, at our debut at the Fringe, is a true reward for the creativity, imagination, commitment and ambition of everyone involved.
“It has been a privilege to be part of the company’s amazing Fringe journey and to see every member flourish – and celebrate this award as a triumph for both them and the school.”
The production used spatial audio and wireless headphones to deliver the soundtrack directly to each audience member, immersing them in the action.
Karl added:
“What made ‘Beth unlike any Fringe offering was its immersive sonic architecture. Using state-of-the-art spatial audio, the entire soundtrack was broadcast directly to each audience member through wireless headphone technology.
“Audience members were able to hear every whisper in every corner of Glamis Castle, every slice of the dagger in the Queen’s bedroom, every disembodied cry upon the heath — creating a theatre experience that placed viewers directly in the thick of the action.
"The result was theatre as a lived experience: close, immediate, and eerily physical.”
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