‘The Red Slippers’ – The original tale from Worksop College & Ranby House that dazzled

Spring term celebrated the culmination of creativity at Ranby House, the Junior school within Worksop College, as Year 3 and 4 amazed in an original production.

Worksop College and Ranby House is a co-educational all-through setting for 2-18 year olds, who have called some truly picturesque grounds their home since 1895.

Pupils within Year 3 and 4, supported by Ranby House and College staff, premiered an entire production on Thursday 16 March that was entirely conceived by themselves.

‘The Red Slippers’ was written and directed by Ranby House, accompanied with the full trimmings of music to be conducted. This led to something that had never been done before – from Ranbians of past or present – starring in a world premiere.

A tale rich in themes of power and love graced an audience for the first time last month. Loosely based on an Egyptian fairy tale, there was no shortage of enthusiasm and energy, as the storytellers – in the form of Egyptian Gods – carried everyone through a tale of a slave, whose only possession is some red slippers.

The story of Rhapdosis, beautifully portrayed by Francesca, centered on a pair of slippers that she has had for as long as she can remember, and she treasures them with her whole heart. Rhapdosis’ rendition, as well as those of her fellow slaves, cast a sense of euphony across the entire audience. She and her fellow slaves work tirelessly in the heat for the Evil Master Ur, who is hilariously played by Violet.

‘The Red Slippers’ then takes us elsewhere in Egypt, which was convincingly brought to Retford through props and staging. Here we meet a treasure-obsessed Pharaoh, played by Rupert. Lo and behold some beautiful red slippers land with him courtesy of a group of scheming birds. Although mischievous and cunning, there was no option but to laugh at their squawking and their flapping, which had the audience in stitches.

With the red slippers in hand, the Pharaoh is set on finding their owner, convinced that she will be rich. Cheeky sidekick Vizier, played by Archie is tasked with this, whilst the Pharoah enjoys remaining at the palace under the dutiful watch of his servants.

In the depths of an Egyptian marketplace, Vizier is hunting for clues, where he’s met by many interesting characters from fish sellers and spell casters to Mystic Meg, each producing their own offering and a convincing pitch to match. The hustle and bustle of a market rang true.

The world premiere was not without its happy ending as Vizier finds Rhapdosis, realising she is not rich, but loving her regardless. Ending a show packed with toe-tapping music, was an entire cast performance of Welcome to Egypt, which had the audience on their feet.

As if the children’s performance wasn’t enough to impress, knowing that this was entirely written and directed by the staff and pupils added its own magic for all involved to treasure.

Victoria Evans, Teacher of Drama and Public Speaking, crafted together the whole script, while Ashley Thompson, Director of Music, wrote and performed the entire score. He, alongside Max, Christian and Evangeline, played through the full show. The production was directed by Miss Mason and Miss Harvey, who had visions of a showstopper, something they very much delivered on.

David Thorpe, Headmaster of Ranby House, was ‘very proud’ of how staff and pupils created something so beautiful from scratch:

“It is a very proud moment for a Head to watch an entire audience thoroughly enjoy a school production that has been completely put-together in-house.

“A huge thank you to the talented staff who willingly wrote the entire production including creating all music and lyrics for pupils in Year 3 and 4 to perform.

“The children were amazing, all carefully coached by their teachers and supporting one another to feel confident to perform in front of a large audience. From delivering simple one-liners, to standing up and singing a solo, every child played their part fantastically.

“A huge thank you to everyone involved in making this World Premiere of Ranby’s The Red Slippers such an amazing experience for all our children and those fortunate enough to see it.”

One community, set across two schools encapsulates the ethos of Worksop College and Ranby House. Ability in the broadest sense is cherished here, with a focus firmly on progress, recognising that every child has their own set of skills, whether it be academic, sporting, musical or otherwise.

The belief is that education is about more than the flight towards academic success, but about a journey to young people flourishing.