Fisher’s Interview

Recent leaver, Fisher, talks about his time at Christ’s Hospital.

I’ve enjoyed acting in School drama productions. In Bugsy Malone, I was one of the gangsters and the splurge gun fights were fantastic. One of my favourite productions was A Midsummer Night’s Dream as we staged it in woodland, one of the first times there’s been an outside production at the School. It was a surreal experience, with the audience sat on blankets, but it worked.

For Chicago, I was part of the lighting and design crew, which was something I hadn’t done before. It was a conscious decision, as I’d never been involved in any form of stage management before and being part of the backstage crew appealed to me. I love performing, but a knowledge of what goes on behind the scenes is important too. I really enjoyed the experience, checking the mics, operating spotlights, and also being able to watch an incredible show.

Everyone involved in drama at CH is aware of just how lucky they are to have such an incredible theatre. It’s similar to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon and is a beautiful setting for us to use, not just for big productions but lessons too.

Occasionally, we have visiting speakers and theatrical companies. The Frantic Assembly ran a fantastic workshop and one talk that sticks in mind came from Rory Kinnear, who has starred in several James Bond movies and also Black Mirror. It was incredible to see a Hollywood actor at the School and I was totally engaged in what he was saying. I stayed behind to speak to him about his route into the profession and that gave me added inspiration, as it reminded me that actors can take many different roads before finding success.

Another passion of mine is photography. I have taken various pictures for the Sports Department and also used a drone to film the Band, after jumping through a few health and safety hoops! Drone photography is something I do commercially outside of School, but being able to shoot the CH buildings has been interesting.

I’m going to Manchester University to study drama, with the course evenly split between performance and production. I hope it will give me time to decide whether my future lies on stage, behind the scenes or even behind the camera.

What will I miss most about CH? It has to be friends. It’ll be such a weird experience, going from seeing the same faces every day to perhaps only seeing them during the holidays. As we are all going to be so far apart, you know there will be good friends you may hardly see at all, which is sad when you’ve been around them for years.