‘All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players’
HGS was proud to host the esteemed British actor of stage and screen, Alfred Enoch for an inspirational talk with students on the afternoon of Friday 12th June. Alfred has recently just finished a run as the eponymous lead in Henry V and is currently back in the West Midlands to rehearse for the Cherry Orchard with Sir Kenneth Branagh later this summer and we were tremendously grateful that he was able to find time to leave Stratford for the Soho Road and impart his wisdom to our students. He was able to give lessons and honest reflections from his life and career and was very keen for those attending to follow their passions in life, seize the opportunities presented to them, and enjoy whatever they do. It was fascinating to hear that he very nearly did not get his big break as Dean Thomas in Harry Potter because he was too nervous and worried to put himself out there. Similarly, Alfred made sure that all students attending knew the value of taking advantage when opportunity knocks and that there is nothing worse than having regrets and to be left wondering what if….
The most moving part of the talk was when Alfred eruditely spoke of the emotional connection that acting can bring and how his role in Pericles helped to bring catharsis to him and salve his grief after the death of his father. A real highlight of the session was Alfred’s spellbinding rendition of Henry V and the way that he promoted audience participation and a connection with those attending the talk. I am sure that Mr Organ was definitely the proudest member of the audience as his students could remember key scenes and themes from Henry V.
The students attending definitely did the school proud with the calibre of questions they asked from Giovanni Ellison’s fully comprehensive understanding of our guest speaker’s life and acting roles to interesting questions about how actors get the knack of particular accents. This yielded a rather funny moment as Alfred talked us through the sheer terror of having to do an American accent in the states and the dedication that goes into building a believable accent. Ultimately, the students took much away from the talk and had a tremendously valuable experience last Friday afternoon. Thank you to them for their interest and the high standards of questioning and engagement they showed as well as Mrs Mann, Ms Abdullahi, Mr Organ, Mrs Harvey, Mr Kafai, Mr Johnson, Miss Morgan, Miss Okon and Mrs Shaikh for attending the event.
Alfred – ‘break a leg’ in the Cherry Orchard from all at HGS!
