The excellent Drama Departrment has made imaginative use of historic Portsmouth locations in recent years, providing an atmospheric backdrop to the dramatic action. Venues have included HMS Warrior, Southsea Castle, Hilsea, the Royal Naval Club and the Round Tower.  The annual, large-scale Senior School musical, however, has been staged in local theatres regularly for the last 20 years and has established itself as a firm favourite in the school calendar. 

In 1987, the Kings was hired for a staging of My Fair Lady, a joint production put on with the High School.  The first entirely PGS production came two years later when, following the hesitant embrace of co-education there was felt to be enough in-house PGS female talent to fill the roles. David Hampshire’s Oliver! opened to critical acclaim and ran for four days to packed houses.

Pupil actors, singers, dancers and crew relished the opportunity to appear on and work with a professional stage in ambitious and lavishly staged annual musicals. A revival of Oliver! in 2004 at the KIngs was was followed by Annie (2005), Guys and Dolls (2006), My Fair Lady (2007), West Side Story (2008), Fiddler on the Roof (2009), Sweet Charity (2010), The Wizard of Oz (2011), The Producers (2012), Mack and Mabel (2013), Kiss Me Kate (2014), Thoroughly Modern Millie (2015), Crazy for You (2016), Into the Woods (2017), Nine to Five (2018), Bring it On (2019). The show went on through Covid with the 2020 production of A Chorus LIne and 2021's Bring it On being filmed and streamed. Normal service was resumed the following year with The Little Shop of Horrors, the non-musical A Christmas Carol (2022) and Guys and Dolls (2023).  

This year’s production promises to rock the foundations of the New Theatre Royal – "a combination of classic comedy and matchless verse meets a live rock band. Expect moshing sprites, thrilling dances, visual trickery and some classic rock tunes, new and vintage". Rather than turning in his grave, Shakespeare, ever the populist, would surely approve. 'A Midsummer Night's Dream Rocks', is described as “an electric journey of love and thunder over hill and over dale, as humans and fairies lose, confuse and find themselves as daylight becomes night and turns to a dream.”  

Runs Thursday 28th to Sat 30th November. Book your tickets here:

A Midsummer Night's Dream Rocks at the New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth