A night of talent: Inaugural Castle by Candlelight shines bright

On the evening of Thursday 10 April, the inaugural Castle by Candlelight was held in the Macleans College Music Department.

A new initiative from the Performing Arts faculty saw the classroom MU1 turned into a black-box theatre, with audience members seated at tables and catered for with platters and drinks.

The performance, titled With a Little Help from my Friends, showcased an eclectic mix of music, drama and dance, presented by small groups of students. Their performances received a warm and enthusiastic response from a full-capacity audience.

The full list of performances were given by:

• Musical Theatre Trio – Kate Buchanan (Rutherford House), Naomi Kwan (Snell) and Holly Bowen (Upham) - performing I Wish I May from the Witches of Eastwick
• Musical Production Sneak Peek – Kate Buchanan, Joy Lee (Mansfield), Gordon, Situ (Rutherford), Isabella Bishop (Upham), Mathew Thomas (Mansfield) - performing Roxie from Chicago
• Dance Trio – Amber Thompson (Kupe), Karen Rekdal (Te Kanawa) and Lene Rekdal (Te Kanawa) - performing a choreographed dance to Black Water Lilies
• Chorale Leaders – Justin Cui (Mansfield), Kate Buchanan, Chien-Ling Liu (Kupe), Sophia Askin (Batten), Wesley Lau (Kupe), Jay Hwang (Mansfield), Lancy Huang (Hillary), Victoria Hsu (Batten), Sam Swallow (Hillary) and Ethan Zhang (Kupe) - performing La Monja Blanca and Sicut Cervus
• Chorale Trio – Kardia Lee (Mansfield), Gladness Saumani (Kupe) and Holly Bowen - performing Let You Break My Heart Again
• Piccolo and Tuba Duo – Olivia Liu (Kupe) and Daniel Hulley (Batten) - performing Duet in C minor and Fire’s on!
• Musical Production Sneak Peek – Sam Swallow, Leana Ferguson (Batten) and Sara Rekdal (Hillary) - performing All I Care About is Love from Chicago
• Musical Theatre Duo – Josiah Yoong (Kupe) and Sophia Askin - performing First Date / Last Night from Dog Fight
• Dance Duo – Leana Ferguson and Sara Rekdal - performing a choreographed dance to 100% Pure Love
• Cello Quartet – Andrew Wang (Hillary), Clare Wang (Mansfield), Nichole Luo (Kupe) and Catherine Yuan (Batten) - performing Danse Macabre and Phantom of the Opera

The next Castle by Candlelight will be held in June during Eisteddfod week. It will feature a cabaret show titled Wondering Out Loud.