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A Night of Theatrical Grandeur: the 2025 English Drama Joint Performance

December 3, 2025

On the evening of November 28th at the SHSID Blackbox, the 2025 English Drama Joint Performance was officially held. It was not only a night of musicals and plays, but also an exploration of the arts through dialogue and music.


Act I: An Original Piece - Zoom In

Introduced to the audience with a jolting shriek, the students set the stage of strong tension. The significance of the play was better "heard" than "seen" throughout the plot, through its metatheatrical choices, where the disembodied voice of the "director" constantly films the dialogue and conflict of the six "actors" of the play, murmuring stage directions as cameras flashed, zooming in on the breakdown of each character. The audience was brought to a sudden, chilling finale as the audience finally hears the "director" and sees the camera; the lights go dark as the last scene echoes The Truman Show, underlining the performative and superficial nature of humanity under the most selfish attempts for survival.


Act II: An Adaptation from M. Butterfly - Death of Gallimard

Switching gears from the dramatic intensity of the last play, another group of students presented the culturally rich adaptation from a movie classic. The French diplomat Gallimard presents himself as solitary in prison, delivering a monologue of the shattering reality he had just known. Although adapted from the renowned movie, the nuanced symbolism in this play underscores its masterful originality. Gallimard's choice of applying Beijing opera makeup and wearing the Chinese-red wedding robes, the transformation of the feminine Beijing Opera actor Song Liling into the actual male individual Song Liling beneath, all highlight the internal conflict and conflicts of self-identity among the characters. The novel use of "thought reflecting", angelic characters surrounding Gallimard, further materializes his internal turmoil as he is torn between his idealised fantasy and the crushing truth.




Act III: A Masterful Villainy - Ways to Be Wicked

Dynamically shifting into a powerful musical, L2D (Live to Drama) presented an adaptation from the opening song of Disney's original movie Descendants 2 - Ways to Be Wicked. L2D's adaptation of the song gifted the audience with a lively performance, as the performers danced and sang both in solo and unison. Their voices sharp and defiant, each lyric demonstrated the characters' unwavering passion in the song; their coordinated dance moves furthered the blazing stage as their confidence truly set the stage on fire. As Principal Ma later commented, L2D's performances were always amazing.


Act IV: Echoes of the Characters - Between Ourselves

Last but not least, SHSID's high school drama club, The Western Classical Theatre Troupe, offered a change in pace with their cabaret performance. This play is an original work by James, a 12th-grade student. The play began with an upbeat song illustrating the bonds between peoples facing hardships in life, cleverly breaking the fourth wall in addressing the audience. Going further, the tone shifts as the next song turned into a sorrowful solo about a girl and her deceased mother. The play then changes to another passionate monologue where memories of duck-hunting with the deceased father was recalled. Though simple and delivering directly, the play demonstrated powerful speeches and songs layered with the purest, unadorned human emotions, closing the event with the warmest connections with the audience.







Closing - The Post-Show Talkback

The excitement of the event extended beyond the final bow with an insightful "behind-the-scenes" session. Students and directors were interviewed about their theatrical choices throughout their plays.


The evening was concluded with the closing speech from Principal Ma, who applauded all students for their creativity and dedication to the arts of drama. The 2025 English Drama Joint Performance was not only a performance of various pieces, but also a celebration of high schoolers' ongoing pursuits in artistic expression, and another step was brought forth through the communication between the different plays, performers, and creators.




(Written by 11(8) Talia Chen   Pictures by Media Group   Supervised by Yuechao Xu   Reviewed by Qian Zuo)