“The mortal who sacks fallen cities is a fool, his own turn must come”

Performance

The screams of the women of Troy reverberate through time, echoing into the contemporary world. This stylised ensemble piece is a great introduction to the story of the Trojan War but also draws our attention to how parable functions in Greek drama through archetype and myth. The tales of Hecuba, Helen, Cassandra, Andromache, and Talthibius become representations of familiar characters, social types and categories.The result is a powerful, cathartic production that reaches out to young audiences making this ancient tale relevant and immediate.

Workshop

Through questions and replaying scenes we examine how directorial choices in the production eclipse and highlight certain themes in the text. Alternative readings of Talthybius and Helen tease out mechanisms of institutional violence and the dynamics of relationships shaped by seductive power and the concept of ‘the vixen’. Where time permits, we examine how different potential portrayals of the chorus may be used to create a variety of effects.

O teach me how I should forget to think”

Performance

“I saw Shakespeare, it wasn’t hard, and don’t tell anyone but I may have even liked it.” This is the sort of thing we hear from students after this show.The dramatic style mirrors the narrative, creating an exciting ride for our young audiences.They are drawn into reckless abandon, a world of period costumes, playful sword fights and comedic characters, as Romeo and Juliet fall in love.Then of course the joy and frivolity ruptures and fades as the tragedy sets in. Both the actors and students all fall together.

Workshop

Students are guided to ask questions and talk about the performance; what they understood, what they liked or didn’t like. We often hear the comment that Romeo and Juliet is a play about ‘two dumb teenagers’ and lust. We explore this idea so students see how an idea that seems to be an off hand comment, could form the basis of a valid reading. Then we challenge this idea by looking at different portrayals of the main characters that might make the love-at-first-sight narrative more appealing. Where time and the level of the group permits, we also look at how creative choices can be used to explore essay prompts such as “Who is to blame?” and “Is love or hate the more powerful force?”

“Let not light see my black and deep desires”

Performance

When an evil person gets what’s coming to them there is no tragedy.This production focuses on the familiarity and banality of having desires and ambitions, and how when unchecked, they can lead to consequences beyond imagination. We focus on the journey of a loving couple, who each want the other to achieve their dreams, but ultimately destroy everything they care about; themselves, and each other.When an evil person gets what’s coming to them there is no tragedy.This production focuses on the familiarity and banality of having desires and ambitions, and how when unchecked, they can lead to consequences beyond imagination.We focus on the journey of a loving couple, who each want the other to achieve their dreams, but ultimately destroy everything they care about; themselves, and each other.

Workshop

Students are guided to critique the performance, ask questions and delve deeper into interpretive practice by looking at the couple’s relationship, and other monologues as time permits. The scene between Macbeth and “His Wife” before Duncan is murdered is used to explore gender, manipulation, and power. The “unsex me here” monologue continues the discussion about gender introducing ideas about frailty and the super- natural.The “tomorrow and tomorrrow” monologue offers an opportunity to explore ambition in tangible, contemporary terms.

“I do spy some marks of love in her.”

Performance

This short performance is a joyful bubbling brook of a rom-com with a warning sign that malice, power games and social critique lurk beneath the surface. Is love a virus or a cure? In a world

of deceptions and masks, the lines between romance, violence, desire, and revenge blur. Do we celebrate existing notions of love or deconstruct them and strike courtship down? Can we do both? What is the role of leaders and their relationship to compassion, equality, and justice? Are they the source of our ‘bum jokes’ or elected to maintain the status quo?

Workshop

Where the performance blends light and dark interpretations, our workshop investigates how the text supports more extreme readings. One could see Don John as a comic evil villain or a painful portrait of a man disenfranchised by his birth. Could Hero and Claudio be pure and innocent lovers or representations of the transactional transfer of possessions and influence? And are Beatrice and Benedick profound portraits of the emotional journey of love or courtiers jousting in a world too prudish to talk openly of sex.  

(Studied in comparison to The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham)

Because it is my name.

At first glance, the contrast between the comedy of The Dressmaker and the high drama horror of The Crucible is glaring. But there are obvious similarities too. Both are set in small-town frontier com- munities, riddled with political alliances and hidden tales of infidelity, resulting in a woman being scapegoated. Both explore deceit, guilt, and the loss of identity.

Contrasting The Crucible and The Dressmaker exposes elements of their stylistic differences. The hysteria in The Crucible has farce-like qualities as did McCarthy’s own ‘witch trials’. The grotesque comedy of The Dressmaker is counterpointed and sharpened by sitting against the backdrop of tragic and sinister aspects of The Crucible.

Our workshops will explore some of these themes as well as examining points of comparison between the two texts’ characters.

Yes Jason to break your heart.

The tale of Medea’s vicious revenge killing of her children strikes at symbols deeply rooted in our culture. Medea is a feminist hero – cutting off patriarchal power at is source as she steals Jason’s heirs. Equally, she is a demon witch and personification of the havoc wreaked by uncontrolled emotions.

The workshop explores key character scenes as well as questions about the chorus and stylistics of Greek drama.