The Magician’s Elephant – the Royal Shakespeare Company’s latest Christmas offering – is a story of a renewed hope in the war-torn town of Baltese. When an Elephant crashes through the roof of the opera house, in a simple magic-trick mishap, a young boy called Peter and the rest of the town try desperately to figure out what it all means.

The students wrote snapshot reviews of the production in their lessons and were extremely complimentary: the singing was spellbinding; the design aesthetic was gritty and purposeful; and the story was packed full of hidden meaning, the director and writer clearly having been inspired by the likes of Bertolt Brecht and Samuel Beckett.

It felt truly special to be back in a theatre building, sharing the experience of a live performance with the company and the rest of the audience. The adrenaline and enthusiasm of the students was palpable – testament to the power of a night of remarkable storytelling. Here’s to many more evenings and matinées to come!