Ali Baba and The Bongo Bandits!

More than 250 members of the HSOG community made their way along Ledcameroch Road this week to take in two truly unforgettable performances of the Junior 6 Musical Production, 'Ali Baba and the Bongo Bandits'.

With the ancient city of Old Baghdad in chaos and the bustling bazaar overrun with ruthless robbers, Sultan Pepper's precious princess and Royal Ruby had vanished! To make matters worse, it seemed the poor Sultan could not trust his own Vizier, Mustapha Widdle. So when Ali Baba discovered the hidden Cave Of Wonders, secret hideout of Balthazar Bongo and his bumbling bandits, it was down to him to save the day!

With Ali accused of royal robbery, his fate seemed as sealed as the Cave Of Wonders. Would he escape the clutches of the evil Vizier? Would he find and free the imprisoned princess? And what was in store when Ali and Bongo finally meet... fez to fez? All was revealed as audiences followed Ali across the dusty desert dunes to face forty filthy thieves, rescue a runaway princess, fly a magic carpet and release a genie from a bottle of ketchup!

J6 pupils spent weeks rehearsing for the show and it clearly all paid off! What an extraordinary two nights of singing, dancing and performing from our talented youngsters.

While Junior 6 might have been the stars of the show, there were also some true heroes backstage! Mrs Alison Dougherty directed, choreographed and managed the running of the production, Miss Elspeth Carnall was Musical Director and band leader, and Ms Kirsty Nolan designed and created the set alongside Junior School janitor, Mr George Nisbet. Our hard-working J6 teachers and classroom assistants made the props and were invaluable in assisting with the organisation of the show, with so many more Junior School staff helping out backstage and throughout the course of the production - well done to everyone on all of their efforts!

Mrs Alison Dougherty, Junior School Drama Teacher, said:

For the past two nights, audiences have been dazzled by the exceptional talent of our Junior School pupils in the hugely successful production of 'Ali Baba and the Bongo Bandits'. The cast have danced, sung and acted to a remarkably high standard and experienced the excitement and joy of performing to an audience. I am incredibly proud of how far they have come from the first days of rehearsal and of how everyone has pulled together to make a truly ensemble performance. I'd like to thank all families for their support at home and, most importantly, the pupils for their hard work, dedication and boundless enthusiasm."

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You can see images from both nights in the gallery below