24 June 2022

Jez Butterworth’s theatrical depiction of the rural life of an English waster took the Abingdon A Level students by storm when they went to see it at the Apollo Theatre, London. With a furiously comical display of drunkenness, illicit partying and swearing, Mark Rylance’s outstanding performance as Johnny ‘Rooster’ Byron explores contemporary anti-establishment movements that are all too relevant in 2022 – thirteen years after the play’s first debut. The Abingdon consensus was that this is a phenomenal production which left the Lower Sixth’s top littérateurs pondering the true modern identity of England’s pastures green.

Jake C: ‘It was decent.’

Sam A: ‘I was thoroughly enthralled by the colloquial language deployed in said performance.’

Magnus: ‘I enjoyed the cultural references, although it was perhaps a bit aged.’

Dylan: ‘Best acting performance I have ever seen.’

Freddy: ‘Didn’t deserve a standing ovation.’

Stef: ‘Up to the hype; the ice cream was bussin’.

Miss I: ‘A barnstorming performance from Rylance; the play continues to make us question what needs to be English in the current climate.’

Mr J: ‘An inspiring mix of references to the mythological and spiritual.’

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