Students from across the College came together recently to stage Brock’s biggest theatrical performance ever – the West End musical comedy hit Betty Blue Eyes.
Featuring a cast of 38 students from the Performing Arts and Music Academy and an Enrichment group, the production ran for three evening performances and two matinees last month.
Audiences packed the College’s Kemball Theatre to witness Brock’s take on the modern classic, which was adapted from the Alan Bennett screenplay A Private Function.
And, on the eve of the run, Betty Blue Eyes lyricist Anthony Drew sent a good luck message to all participants in a video clip, telling them to “break a trotter”.
Joining the cast to make the show a success were a full band, a musical ensemble and a large stage crew. 
Betty Blue Eyes tells the story of a Yorkshire community gripped by austerity in the aftermath of the Second World War.
Widespread rationing means SPAM is the only meat widely available to hard-up consumers.
However, local dignitaries have hatched a plan to enjoy a special banquet of roast pork to celebrate the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark.
To achieve this, they have conspired to illegally fatten a pig named Betty, which is short for Elizabeth. 
Uninvited couple, Gilbert and Joyce Chilvers, feel outraged at the elitism, leading Gilbert to steal the prize animal, causing chaos.
Josie Flack, who played Joyce, said: “Playing Joyce was an incredible journey for me. It allowed me to explore a different side of my performing abilities by really diving deep into her complex character, which is a learning experience I’ll take forward to my future performances.”
The second year Performing Arts student from Newport, Isle of Wight, added: “I felt the preparation and work the whole cast put into the production hugely paid off on the show days, when we all stepped up and put on an exciting, joyful and uplifting performance that we’ll never forget.”
Director Moira Rock said: “Preparations for the show created a huge community feel in a professional environment, where everyone was given the chance to demonstrate their talents and skills.”
