William Maher, a Year 7 pupil at Bolton School Boys’ Division, recently starred in a powerful short film By My Side written and directed by Jake Metcalf. The film follows a young boy as he struggles with loneliness and anxiety after his parents’ divorce. An unlikely friendship develops as the boy begins to notice strange personalities in his right-hand – much to the distaste of his mother.
Reflecting on his role, Will said: ‘It took four full days of filming on location and several months of rehearsals with the director beforehand. The real challenge was not blinking during takes and at some points resisting the urges to laugh with the cast and crew when something went wrong. It was also a challenge working with a knife although there was an assistant in charge of the safety precautions.
‘Acting is my passion. I have been at Stagecoach for six years and would love to go into acting as a career although I loved seeing all the behind-the-scenes work too and I also love creative writing and penning my own scripts.’
You can watch the intriguing short film here:
Will also takes part in Saturday Social - Bolton School's weekend acting class that is being run in partnership with the Octagon Theatre and which takes place at the school. Bolton School will be offering a number of upcoming filmmaking opportunities in the new year, including with Bolton Film Festival and as part of the School's work with BeeWell, the Royal Society of Public Health and Curious Minds.
