The Beacon Bard of the Year – With a Hollywood Twist!
We were honoured to welcome Hollywood film director and Beacon parent, Peyton Reed, to the Old Barn this Tuesday to adjudicate this year’s Beacon Bard of the Year competition and this time, with a cinematic twist!
Eleven boys from Years 6 to 8 worked tirelessly over the Easter break to rehearse, perform, produce, and edit their chosen Shakespearean monologues. Each pupil took full ownership of their piece, showcasing an impressive blend of technical skills, creativity, and flair.
Guests were treated to a truly spectacular red carpet event, complete with paparazzi, security, and appearances from Hollywood A-listers! The audience revelled in the star-studded atmosphere, vying for autographs or a selfie with one of our very talented amateur filmmakers.
After watching all the entries, Peyton Reed was blown away by the creativity and passion in the room, even reminiscing about his early days as a filmmaker. Every participant was awarded a mini-Oscar and some personalised feedback from Peyton before the final awards were given out.
Special mentions went to Armaan Sachdev and Archie Kaursland-Gough. Third place went to Thor Kudsee with his charming, lyrical performance of the famous ‘All the World’s a stage’ speech from As you like it. Second place went to Patrick Howells for his symbolic and historical portrayal of John of Gaunt’s final words from Richard II and the coveted title of Beacon Bard of the Year was awarded to Tag Lawson for his black-and-white, gangster-inspired interpretation of Mark Antony’s iconic speech from Julius Caesar.
Huge congratulations to all the participants this year and thank you to everyone else who contributed to making this event such a resounding success – your hard work and dedication truly shone on and off screen.
A huge thanks to Peyton Reed for adjudicating the event. Peyton is an American Television and Film Director. He directed the comedy films Bring It On (2000), Down with Love (2003), The Break-Up (2006), and Yes Man (2008), as well as the superhero film Ant-Man (2015) and its sequels.
