Welcome back to the new and exciting beginnings of
The Webber Independent School.
We in the English department hope you had a fantastic summer break and are ready for all the fun awaiting you in English and Drama this term.
Our new department consists of the following members of staff:
Mrs. B. Hunt - Head of Department/KS3, 4 and 5 English
Ms. S. Anacootee - KS3 and 4 English
Mrs. M. Walker - KS3 English
Mrs. H. Heather - KS3 and 4 Drama
This new interactive blog will give you updates and tips on English and Drama teaching and recommend hot websites and links to improve your learning skills.
Please feel free to post appropriate comments that others in school will find useful.
We hope you enjoy your English and Drama studies this term and are looking forward to
Achieving Excellence Together....
Review of the production 'Journey's end' in Milton Keynes theatre:
ReplyDeleteThe production of ‘Journey’s end’ in Milton Keynes theatre captured the intensity of the living conditions of the dugouts in the First World War. This was achieved by the imagination and creativity of the scenery and lighting on stage, as well as how the script was portrayed by the cast. Since the play was written to focus on the harsh reality of the dugouts at the front line, by using only candle light and a small area of the stage, the audience were able to imagine how the dugouts would have been. Of course, there is no photographic evidence of how the dugouts would have looked, but the director’s interpretation was a success to convey the misery and disgusting conditions of trench warfare.
The most intense and powerful moment of the production was properly the last scene when the theatre went dark and they boomed out the screams of the men dying in battle. This was affective because the audience were allowed to imagine the scene in their own mind and the volume of the battle made it more dramatic and terrifying than if it was acted out by the actors.
However, the performance of the actors could have been better if they used more expression in their faces and did not convey anger only through the use of shouting. The long pauses were successful in building the tension between the characters but sometimes it seemed that they were pausing because they didn’t know their lines. At one point they seemed to be turning to one another, waiting for someone to carry on with the scene. Also, at the end of the performance, when Riley was dying, he was told that he had been shot in the back and was paralysed, but then seemed to be rolling around screaming. This made it less convincing and overly acted, but this was the directors fault for not realising people cannot move if their paralysed!
Overall, the performance was enjoyable, as well as a good insight on the conditions and lives of the men living in the trench dugouts in the First World War, but it could have been directed and acted in a more convincing and less boring way, to allow the audience to really capture the intensity and horrors of the war.