ENGLISH
Page and Stage
—Clockwise from top left “I’ll take Fantasy for 500 points”; The hilarious antics of Theatresports; The Sonnet Project putting a contemporary spin on Shakespeare’s classics; Teachers in costume, can you guess who they have dressed up as?
To subvert is not the aim of literature; its value lies in discovering and revealing what is rarely known, little known, thought to be known but in fact not very well known of the truth of the human world. Gao Xingjian, Nobel Lecture, 2000
THE BARKER | WINTER 2015
I 28
n Week 7 of Term 1, the English, Drama and Library staff inaugurated the Barker Festival of Page and Stage as a celebration of all things dramatic, poetic and novel – pun entirely intended. It was a weeklong event that launched on a day where staff came dressed as a well-known literary character, which became a great point of conversation about canonical texts, nostalgic childhood memories and the pleasure of being lost in a fantastical world. The importance and joy of literature and drama were brought to life in a range of opportunities on offer to the students over the week. Guest presenters such as Brett Hunt and The Sonnet Project entertained students during lunch times. Brett Hunt brought together a range of songs from periods of change and revolution in the twentieth century, while The Sonnet Project performed their original music to transform Shakespeare’s sonnets.
Students watched and enjoyed a collection of outstanding short films, comforted by a cup of freshly popped popcorn. There was the Speed Scrabble Tournament that saw Dylan Hood of Year 12 eventuate as the champion wordsmith. There were victors of Book Jeopardy – yes, a take on the game show we all know and love – and a challenging Scavenger Hunt where students had to find all the scattered letters around the School and put them in order to make three famous book titles. Congratulations to Alex Dring and Angus Palmer of Year 9 for solving this. The opportunity to buy books at the Book Fair and laugh at the antics of Theatre Sports contributed to a well-received and worthwhile first-ever Festival of Page and Stage. Thank you to all the staff who were involved in organising this event. Michael Marokakis English Teacher and Senior School Tutor