18 January 2024
On Wednesday 17 January, Year 10 drama students’ compelling performance of Mark Wheeller’s hard-hitting play I Love You, Mum – I Promise I Won’t Die made for a memorable and moving evening for the audience of family and friends gathered in the auditorium.
The play, which documents the tragic story of Croydon school boy Daniel Spargo-Mabbs, a high achieving and outgoing individual, who lost his life after taking a fatal dose of MDMA at an illegal rave, is the set text for the students' written GCSE exam. Their practical exploration of the text, which began before Christmas and culminated in this week’s staging of the play – with one section performed by each of the three drama classes – was designed to develop their understanding of the piece, which is made up of the spoken words of people who knew Daniel, including his parents.
Daniel’s parents commissioned Mark Wheeller to write this verbatim play to help young people understand the risks and potential consequences and impact of experimenting with drugs. Woldingham’s Year 10 drama students spread this message powerfully through their performances, by coincidence 10 years to the day since Daniel attended the rave.
