On Wednesday 5th February two 9th year classes took a bus to Portadown College to see "The Theatre of Blood".

The play was originally a film of the same name. It is about a fictional actor named Edward Lionheart, (played by Peter Strong), who once played lead parts in many of William Shakspeare's plays.

The main story was about Edward Lionheart, whose jealousy drove him to murder eight critics, all of whom had written bad reviews of his plays, jeopardising his career.
This caused Edward to try to take his own life, as the critics chose another actor in favour of him to be awarded with the "Best Actor Award".
However, Edward did not die and was rescued by a gang of outlaws, who nursed him back to health. Aided by the beggars and his daughter, Edward reclaimed power and succeeded in killing all but one of the critics' group.
The detective eventually discovered Edward Lionheart was the serial killer, but was not able to catch him. The performance closes with Lionheart and his daughter losing their lives when lionheart fails to recue his daughter from a burning building.

The lighting on stage enhanced the characters, their emotions and their surroundings, making the performance more vivid and interesting.

The stage took on creepy, majestic, exciting and scary feelings due to the array of lighting. Unlike most plays, this one included some film, which was used for outdoor scenes.

This play was very enjoyable, being able to mix horror with comedy and producing very good special effects.

"The Theatre of Blood" was reviewed by:
Sara Cunningham, Anna Bleakley and Catherine Galway 9A1.