When three of our drama scholars learned they were going to be performing John Godber’s Teechers, they began a process of education that took them far beyond the stage and opened their eyes to the wider world of education more generally.
The three-boy cast made up of Remove Formers Stanley Breed and Henry Gillham, and Fourth Former Matthew Hackney, stretched their acting abilities while having a huge amount of fun, as they each played multiple characters in the play. One minute playing a middle-aged man, the next a teenage girl, and the energy required to learn each character and switch so rapidly between parts certainly tested the boys.
Before the boys were able to truly get into character, they needed to understand a bit more about how The Arts are often underfunded in many schools across the country, and that they themselves are in a very privileged position. Many discussions, led by Head of Academic Drama, Mrs Antoinette Keylock, looked at how this play could communicate this fundamental message to the audience.
Mrs Keylock explained, “Some of my favourite rehearsals have been about when we have talked about the wider political message that John Godber is trying to make about education, and specifically drama in education.”
While the play itself is a comedy, it is also a political play with a great deal of depth, something that Matthew really enjoyed. He explained, “We are in a privileged school, and I have been private schooled all my life. Doing this play has given me a massive insight into the education system of the 1980s, when the play was originally written, and issues in UK schools today. I have learnt that a lot of children aren’t as lucky as me.”
The play itself took the audience on an emotional rollercoaster. First, laughing at three talented individuals mocking their teachers, but behind the laughs lies a serious message – soon the audience learns that these young people are not going to have the opportunities in life that many others have – and with that brings a huge sadness.
Mrs Keylock described the lead up to the one-night-only performance, “It’s been a long process and I am so proud of the boys’ journey. Not only as actors, but also how they have embraced the themes and issues. We’re an independent school but doing a play about education more widely, and that could be seen as controversial. However, theatre should be a challenge and thought-provoking. What’s the point of theatre if we don’t challenge our audience to think about things? I think we have done this play justice and, if John Godber was watching this, I think he would be happy.”
