Lucy makes a play as director to help children’s charity

Drama student Lucy Farrant has helped raise hundreds of pounds for an anti-bullying charity by organising and directing a play at her school.

Lucy, 18, from Assington Road, Bures, is currently taking her A-levels, and is hoping to go to drama school.

To help give her some experience of directing, she asked her school if she could put on a play for charity.

After choosing a drama called DNA by Dennis Kelly, and paying £100 out of her own money to obtain the rights to put the play on, for which she was later reinbursed, she set about getting school friends to act in it.

“I put up posters around my school and I decided to offer free biscuits to everyone who attended the audition.

I found that worked quite well and I was able to cast the 11 people I needed,” said Lucy, who is in the sixth form at Colchester Grammar School.

“The play follows a group of kids aged 17 and 18 who are responsible for their friend’s death which they cover up in a rather elaborate plan.

“As it covers the issue of bullying, I decided to give the profits to an anti-bullying charity called Ditch the Label. I am hoping it will come to about £500 but the final figure has not been sorted out.”

Lucy directed her play at her school over two nights on March 21 and 22. She added: “Everyone seemed to really enjoy it.

“As all the actors are my school friends, so I think it was a lot harder for me to direct them.”