A red carpet and floodlit sky heralded the opening night of a new musical based on a moment in history that laid the foundations of the outbreak of World War. ‘The Shot Heard ‘round The World’ is the culmination of the creative efforts of three Upper Sixth Students at Burgess Hill School for Girls. Tickets completely sold out with over 1400 people flocking to see this outstanding show over four performances and a dress rehearsal.
A year ago, Amy Scott, Beth King and Lily Williams decided to write and direct a musical. After hundreds of hours of hard work, they found themselves with 12 songs, a two-hour script, a cast of 27, a band of nine professional musicians and three very proud directors. The musical was performed at Burgess Hill School on the 13th, 14th and 15th March 2014.
‘The Shot Heard ‘Round the World’ follows the life of Gavrilo Princip, the young revolutionary who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the event commonly believed to be the trigger to the First World War. It is a story of love, sacrifice and passion. The girls aimed to tell the story from his perspective and explore an angle of the Great War that has rarely been explored before.
The success of this show reflects the energy and enthusiasm of everyone involved. Lily, Beth and Amy said: “We must say a massive thank you to everyone who has helped us from Burgess Hill School for Girls. They have believed in us enough to let us write, direct and perform the main school production and we can’t express how moving that is. The school has shaped all of us as people and has given us so much support over the years.”
The musical was the first production in the new Croft II Performance, Drama and Music complex at the school, and provided a fitting launch event for the enhanced facilities completed just a few weeks ago.
