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Video compilation created by Wade Van Den Hoek www.vanflix.com
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Danielle Fairhurst
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Contents
Felix Vudrag 09 Visual Arts E Pluribus Unum (Out of Many, One)
Angus Greiner 15 English House of Canon
Lachlan Easdown 24 Music 2 & Extension Performance: Tenor Saxophone
Joe Calleia
Luke Fish
Harrison Hadley Juach Juach
Jack Treacy 28 Drama Murphy Mining Brothers (Group Drama Performance)
Sam Kearney 38 English A Purple Picture
Oliver McLachlan 60 Visual Arts Expressions of Life
Miles McKeon 66 English Drilled
Thomas Knox 82 Photography, Video & Digital Media Forgotten
Harrison Hartnell 86 Visual Arts Labyrinth – Passageways Through Time
Max Ghiazza 92 Music 1 Performance: Bass Guitar
Matthew Butler 96 Technological & Applied Studies Coffee Table
Graham Duckett 100 Visual Arts Yuludarla Jandaygam
Oliver McLachlan 102 Music 1 Performance: Piano
Sam Kearney 106 History Dismissals, Distortions and Deceptions: The Politicisation of History
Louis Cagé
James Craig
Oliver Ell
Maximilian Toohey 116 Drama Phar Lap (Group Drama Performance)
Angus Greiner
Zakariya Skaf
CONTENTS
DR PAUL A HINE, PRINCIPAL
Foreword
John O’Malley SJ, one of the foremost authorities on Jesuit history, asserts that “Ignatius and his companions from the very beginning advocated and exemplified a learned ministry”1 . Because of this, the Society of Jesus grew from its foundational days to embrace reason and scholarship of all forms with a reflective and constructively critical impulse to learn. Indeed, the earliest Jesuits such as Matteo Ricci, who travelled to the Far East in the mid 16th century, were among the finest scholars of their day, schooled in cartography, astronomy, mathematics and linguistics. A brief glance at Jesuit history across the centuries will reveal that it is enamoured with those who have made great discoveries and explored contemporary fields of research, from telescopy and physics, to art, philosophy and literature.
The tradition of scholarship and the desire to learn remain deeply embedded in Jesuit education. Four hundred years after Ricci, at a major international conference that foregrounded the 21st century, the Congregation asserted that “In all of its endeavours, Jesuit education is distinguished by intellectual excellence and academic rigour”2 , and because of this, “the schools set demanding standards for both students and faculty”3 It is this ethic that drives the education program at Saint Ignatius’ College Riverview and generates the quality of work contained in this publication.
Named after Athanasius Kircher SJ, a Jesuit of prodigious intellect in the 17th century, The Kircher Collection is testament to the aspirational scholarship that is alive and well at the College. It profiles key fields of academic pursuit and endeavour—Literature, Visual Arts, History, Drama, Music and Science. More than just a compendium of student work, it is a manifestation of the desire to enquire, to experience, to comprehend, to analyse, to interpret, to explore—all corollaries of creative cognition in the quotient of learning.
As you read this publication, it is my hope that you will enjoy the sophistication of the work, remembering that these young men are still of a tender age with so much potential in their chosen fields. Who knows, they may reach some of the lofty heights of illustrious alumni such as Robert Hughes, Alex Seton and the seven Rhodes scholars who have given so much to academic pursuit and artistic expression in their personal and professional lives. These are early days in disciplines still seminal to the contributors, but a discerning appreciation of their work augurs well for all that lies ahead.
Special thanks are extended to the many staff who contribute with great generosity and professionalism to this publication.
1 John O’Malley SJ. (1993). The First Jesuits. In Traub, George, W. (Ed). A Jesuit Education Reader. p 7
2 Communal Reflection on the Jesuit Mission. A Way of Proceeding. From the Jesuit Conference, 2002. In Traub, George, W. (Ed) op. cit. p 179
3 Mitchell, Robert, A. (1988). Five Traits of Jesuit Education. In Traub, George, W. (Ed) op. cit. p 111
FR TOM RENSHAW SJ, RECTOR
Introduction
In the middle of 2021, the second global colloquium on Jesuit education was held virtually. In responding to Father General’s question of “How do we accompany young people in the creation of a hope-filled future in our education apostolic ministry?”, the response was the following,
We ought to educate for a hope-filled future by educating for depth and global citizenship in faith and in reconciliation in the context of our Education integrated (Holistic) Perspective.
Jesuit education seeks to do this through four interrelated strands:
1 Educating for faith;
2. Educating for depth;
3. Educating for reconciliation; and
4. Educating for global citizenship.
The goal of Jesuit education today “is to educate for human excellence that leads to a hope-filled future: persons who are compassionate, competent, conscious of God in themselves and in the world around them, and committed to seeing all things new in Christ”
This collection is named after a 17th century Jesuit, Fr Athanasius Kircher SJ, who is the embodiment of depth and the magis. I congratulate the students whose works appear in this collection and for the differing ways in which they have used their Godgiven talents to respond creatively in producing outstanding works of scholarship as part of their Higher School Certificate. Each work is an inspiring expression of human excellence. In the next section, one of my predecessors, Fr Ross Jones SJ (College Rector 2011-2017), outlines most eloquently the life of Fr Athanasius and his extraordinary contribution, as a polymath, to many different fields of learning.
1 Vision Statement, Second Colloquium JESEDU-Global 2021, https://www.educatemagis. org/jesedu-global2021/colloquium-hub/, accessed 27 November 2021.
INTRODUCTION
It was because of Kircher’s work that scientists knew what to look for when interpreting the Rosetta Stone.
FR ROSS JONES SJ
Athanasius Kircher SJ
“The last man who knew everything”
Athanasius Kircher, born in 1601, was the complete Renaissance man, the uomo universale , a polymath—widely regarded as the physical embodiment of all the learning of his age. Deservedly known as “the Master of One Hundred Arts”, he taught in the Colleges of Würtzberg and Avignon, before being posted to Rome (where he died in 1680). In bridging the sciences and the humanities, Kircher has been compared to da Vinci. Stanford professor, Paula Findlen, entitled her recent biography of Kircher The Last Man Who Knew Everything But as a young man Kircher was, according to his own account, an accident-prone dimwit.
Kircher wrote over thirty separate works dealing with the widest range of subjects. He invented a universal language scheme, attacked the possibility of alchemical transmutation and devised a host of remarkable pneumatic, hydraulic, optic and
magnetic machines, which he displayed to visitors to his famous public museum (the first such institution), housed in the Jesuit Collegio Romano. His books, lavishly illustrated volumes, were destined for Baroque princes with a love of the curious and exotic explorations of their time.
Kircher invented the lantern slide (the forerunner of projectors). He accurately estimated the speed of a swallow at 100 feet per second (without a stopwatch). He was a volcanologist (even climbed into the volcano Vesuvius) and wrote the first book on volcanology. Kircher and others like him taught in the Colleges and encouraged the appropriation of the sciences into the school curriculum.
Kircher invented calculators, wrote on symbolic logic, and devised mathematical tables. He understood the evolutionary process and hinted at the germ theory of disease—he attributed the plague to tiny animals which he had observed under a microscope.
His first publication concerned magnetism. Then he wrote of sundials, next on the Egyptian language, then on calendars. He proposed a map of the city of Atlantis. He knew twenty ancient and modern languages. He studied hieroglyphics and it was because of Kircher’s work that scientists knew what to look for when interpreting the Rosetta stone. He has been called the real founder of Egyptology.
Kircher always wanted to be a missionary in China, but the importance of his teaching saw this dream never realised. However, that did not prevent him writing a huge treatise on China, China Illustrata , which included mythology, accurate cartography and Chinese characters.
While traveling through Italy writing his book on magnetism, he came to the town of Taranto, which gives its name to the poisonous tarantula spider. The region of Taranto was known for the prevalence of a disease called ‘tarantism’, which induced an hysterical condition in the sufferer, with one characteristic feature being the sudden desire to dance, in a wild and rapid whirling motion. It was commonly supposed that the illness was a result of the bite of a tarantula. Accordingly, it was believed that the cure for the bite of the tarantula was to perform the dance, to work out the toxin. In his book on magnetism, Kircher helpfully depicts the region populated by the spider, and gives drawings of the animal and of its victims being bitten. Finally, should one be unfortunate enough to get bitten, Kircher, composed a piece of music—Antidotum Tarantulæ —for the victim to dance to, to cure the bite!
Kircher practised a unique brand of science before the lines had been drawn between it and art and religion. He covered herbs, astrology, mining, dragons, demons, weather, eclipses, fossils, gravity, bioluminescence, the sun and moon, and other topics. For example, spanning scriptures and science, he calculated that the height required for the Tower of Babel merely to reach the moon would catapult the earth out of its orbit.
He understood the evolutionary process and hinted at the germ theory
of disease.
INTRODUCTION
Left Athanasius Kircher; The Kircher Museum in Rome
Visitors to Kircher’s impressive museum heard his disembodied voice, fed to them through a hidden metal tube he spoke through from his bedroom. He engineered megaphones with which one of his friends used to bray at wolves and set them to howling. He launched dragon-shaped hot-air balloons with “Flee the wrath of God” painted on their underbellies.
In the Jesuit Archives in Rome there are more than 2,000 items of his correspondence with the most eminent scientists of his time, including Leibniz, Torricelli and Gassendi. In addition, Kircher harnessed the network of Jesuit missionaries in far-flung places to carry out natural observations and experiments on a global scale.
Towards the end of his life, Kircher’s stocks fell as the rationalist era emerged. Descartes (himself a Jesuit alumnus) described Kircher as “more quacksalver than savant”. Because of his stature and high regard he was also the victim of a number of hoaxes where his enemies attempted to set him up, and occasionally did so.
However, in this postmodern era, many are being drawn again to his eclecticism, transcendence of academic boundaries, taste for trivia and technomania. In recent years his life and works have interested many biographers and authors revealing his myriad areas of interest. There is an Athanasius Kircher Society in Manhattan. Stanford University hosts an Athanasius Kircher Correspondence Project.
Perhaps Athanasius Kircher was not really “the last man who knew everything”. But he might have come closer than most.
FR ROSS JONES SJ
COLLEGE RECTOR 2011–2017
VISUAL ARTS
Felix Vudrag E Pluribus Unum (Out of Many, One)
REFLECTION STATEMENT
I first encountered the motto E Pluribus Unum’ when it appeared on the new subway station near my home in Manhattan where I lived from the ages of 10 to 14. The motto came to represent my experience of living in a big city.
New York City is a product of the hectic weaving of many people above ground and below, in the buildings, along roads, on footpaths, in tunnels and subway lines. This merging of humanity and our built environment seems to form a pulsating living entity.
Out of many, one.
Left The precursor of the slide, overhead and digital projector
HSC BODIES OF WORK FROM THE CLASS OF 2022
VISUAL ARTS PAINT (POSCA) ON WOOD, PLASTIC AND CERAMICS
FELIX VUDRAG
E PLURIBUS UNUM (OUT OF MANY, ONE)
HSC BODIES OF WORK FROM THE CLASS OF 2022
VISUAL ARTS PAINT (POSCA) ON WOOD, PLASTIC AND CERAMICS
FELIX VUDRAG
E PLURIBUS UNUM (OUT OF MANY, ONE)
ENGLISH
Angus Greiner House of Canon
REFLECTION STATEMENT
Ugliness an’ age keep me chaste. - Patience Agagbi
My experimental storytelling podcast, House of Canon, reflects the unyielding application of my artistic licence afforded in undertaking the Extension 2 course. After what was a thorough process of investigation, feedback and drafting, I found my personal interest in exploring the intention of an author when reinterpreting a canonical text, whilst analysing its concomitant effect on the former works’ literary value. Itself a convergence of ideas encountered in Extension 1 and 2 courses, the podcast sought to transcend the conceit of a textual conversation, scrutinising the understood axiological disparity of western canonical authors with their respective feminist revisionist voices. Through the sonic medium, I feel I was able to craft a powerful, immersive examination into the ways texts interact with each other and liaise meaning through time, positing that the survival of the western canon is contingent on a movement towards a ‘global canon’ espoused through reinterpretation.
Looking back on what I was able to create, I love that it’s as experimental as it is simple; indicative of a process as tumultuous as it was rewarding. I thank Mrs Lobsey and Ms Jackson as well as Mrs Williams and the entirety of the English faculty for their unwavering support and commitment to facilitating the realisation of my purpose within my major work.
Looking back on what I was able to create, I love that it’s as experimental as it is simple; indicative of a process as tumultuous as it was rewarding.
TRANSCRIPT
(Intro excerpt one)
(Intro excerpt two)2
*Suspenseful background music *3
Bloom: Welcome. In a collaboration between Strange Horizons Magazine and The Classics Book Club, commissioning The Truth new stories in stereo Podcast today, we take you on a special episode exploring Western canonical literature and the misconception that feminist appropriations are denigrating those at the heart of literary study: Chaucer, Shakespeare, Homer.
We hope you enjoy it.
I’m Ezra Bloom.
This is, ‘The House of Canon’...
*CUT NOISE *4
Bloom: Faye Fleming hated Tuesdays. It meant American Classic Literature, and the longest possible walk out through her campus at 7pm… and when I say Faye hated the long walk through the campus, I mean she hated it… even more than Tuesdays. Not because she had been advised against walking through the campus as it moved into darkness, but purely that she loathed the sheer incongruity of the buildings which perpetually triggered her OCD. It visibly irritated Faye… it just didn't make sense to her, she would say when did we (move into Faye phone call ) start placing modernity and renewal before aesthetic value in such a historically significant campus?! Right?
(Over phone): ...I can’t have this conversation again Faye…
Faye: Don’t hang up… UGH!
1 Harold Bloom interview on "The Western Canon" (1994) #https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9ieF7LVbyI
2 Do we need the Western canon? (1997) THINK TANK
3 Dee Yan Key, Vivace Amabile https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Dee_Yan-Key/divertimento-of-nature/vivace-amabile/
She was looking at the old Dickens library that was in the process of being rebuilt. It was now a gaping 100-square-metre lot of dirt. That was there yesterday… she was referring to a grand white building that stood formidably, alone in the heart of the allotment.
Would she “dare disturb the universe”6? Of course she would.
*FENCE CLIMB*
*MUSIC * - fade out
Narrator: Faye made her way through the sight as above her, the stitches of the sky slowly revealed themselves, colour withering from its twilight corpse, until finally there she stood. At her toes a stairway yawns, its winding balustrades blushed a deep verdant moss, its marble steps flecked by blackening veins of age, a countenance of expired opulence. She moves towards it, searching for flickers of meaning amongst the wreck, when she spots a plaque, gleaming and untouched, Faye reads…
Faye: “The House of Western Canon”.
Harold Bloom excerpt: “The canon really means, the works from the Greek and ancient Hebraic days onwards… the works deemed most essential for study by the young in scholastic situations.”7
7 Harold Bloom Interview on The Western Canon (1994) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9ieF7LVbyI
ANGUS GREINER HOUSE OF CANON
FOOTSTEPS
Faye: I’m scared.
Narrator: Don’t be, just keep looking around…
*Muffled, inaudible ranting *
Dostoevsky: That’s man’s one privilege over all creation. Through error you come to the truth! I am a man because I err! You never reach any truth without making fourteen mistakes and very likely a hundred and - you… out!
*Runs out into someone *
Faulkner: Oh dear sweetheart! You must have been shaking in your little boots. Apologies for my colleagues PENURIOUS ETIQUETTE… we don’t get many visitors these days. I am Mr Faulkner, but you can call me Will. What is your name?
Faye: I’m… Faye. I’m sorry, I just want to know what this is.
Faulkner: Did you not see the plaque, I just polished the damn thing! This Faye, is… The House of Western Canon.
Faye: I… I saw the plaque, but see, professor Bloom said the canon was essential for study by the young. I’m ‘the young’ so why don’t I know any of you then?
Faulkner: Well you see, we prefer it that way… an age of literary exclusion at the hands of the caucasian male has blistered those same hands with a rather unattractive ultimatum. Silent submission to the sweeping tide of bygone literary artefact or… live on, only through ceaseless subversion by more socially palatable appropriations - the Marxists, the pseudo historicists, 8 but most of all… the feminists. They who “read books with pinched, disapproving lips, zealously scanning the pages for the slightest hint of sexism”9 You see the ‘reinterpretation’, the ‘revision’ the ‘pastiche’ are all euphemisms for sabotage. You don’t know us because they haven’t got to us yet, the feminists that is. But not everyone has been so lucky, the unfortunate ones are here too, on the top level, in the school of resentment, but steer clear little one, no one has ever laid eyes on the atrocities that occur up there.
Faye: I want to see for myself, maybe I can help them.
8 Guillory, John. (1987) Canonical and Non-Canonical: A Critique of the Current Debate 9 Castellano, Irene Gómez. Letras Femeninas, vol. 33, no. 2, 2007, pp. 148–51. Accessed 17 Aug. 2022.
Faulkner: Good luck…
*Elevator ding *
*Exponentially increasing heartbeat *
*Modern classical upbeat *
Faye stepped out of the elevator and moved towards the closest door, it had a Tudor frame, with gothic wooden staves. But you see it sat under the radiant hues of spray paint. It reads ‘she was here’ with a smiley face.
Door opens* Cue footsteps* Reduce hallway music* Increase room (2) ambience* Slowly increase audibility of Atwood talking to Shakespeare*
Shakespeare: (Muffled) Coming!
Faye: Oh. WOW. Shakespeare.
Shakespeare: William is fine, is everything okay?
Faye: Everything is good, really good… that’s why I'm so confused.
Shakespeare: What? Oh no, no the boys downstairs got into your head didn't they...
Faye: They just said-
Shakespeare: That it’s a slaughterhouse? That they are burning us in an eternal pit of fire? They’re so full of it. If it’s not obvious, everything is just fine over here, we really are as alive as we have ever been. Isn’t that right Maggie!?
Atwood: (laughing) Of course it is!
Faye: I know you, Margaret Atwood. You wrote Hag-Seed based on The Tempest…. Does that not make you angry, William?
Shakespeare: How could it! Think of us as a team not enemies.
Faye: (Confused/Pleading) Well… Margaret, why are you with him anyway? Think about how he portrayed women:
“Silence! One word more. Shall make me chide thee, if not hate thee.”
“Then as my gift, and thine own acquisition / Worthily purchased -” (cut off)
Shakespeare: Firstly, if you actually watched The Tempest instead of just getting quotes from Spark Notes like you kids do, you would find my play actually goes pretty close to being pro-matriarchal… But that's a conversation for another day, or never… because thanks to Maggie, the pulse of The Tempest beats within the pages of Hag-Seed, its 400-year-old meaning now imparted with her post-modern, feminist lens.
ANGUS GREINER HOUSE OF CANON
Atwood: This is very out of character, but he is right, just like my Miranda who holds the threads of the past and the present by remaining alive in Felix’s imagination, acts of literary adaptation depict the current vision of their creator as a dialogic acknowledgement of our debt to the past.
Shakespeare: I can't go back in time, but through reinterpretation such as Margaret’s, I can be brought forward. It is because of people like her I am still studied today, ding ding ** okay would you like to stay for tea?
Faye: No thank you, I need to keep exploring
*FOOTSTEPS *
*Muffled, inaudible ranting (Iliad )*
*Cue door open*10
(From a distance) Recorded from afar in a large hall
Homer: Hi there, are you lost?
Faye: I don’t think so, just exploring.
Madeline: Well you're in the right place, Faye isn't it? Word spreads quicker than Hermes around here. I'm Madeline.
Faye: I’m assuming you know this, but in case you didn’t, there are lions sitting outside the door.
Madeline: Oh, don’t mind them. They belong to Circe. They protect all of us.
Faye: All two of you?
Madeline: All four, see my work Circe is one of three significant feminist revisions of Homer’s Odyssey and by extension, the enchantress Circe, each with a different intention and a unique interpretation. Three of us who didn’t like the fact that myth comes prepacked with a wealth of male figures cast as “conquering gods and heroes”, and female ones who are either “sexually wicked” or “virtuously passive”.
Faye: So, what did you do exactly, make the setting of The Odyssey a feminist empowered one?
Madeline: Circe is far from a feminist utopia, in fact I was conscious to stay authentic to the social conventions interpreted throughout The Odyssey. Only then was I able to truly complicate the structures that render women powerless in mythic literature.
10 Door Opening and Closing - Posted February 08, 2022
Clearly problematising the roles and experiences of women was just as vital to my feminist lens as articulating Circe’s resistance to such structures...
Faye: Wow, you're kind of doing him a favour, you re-coated those aspects of his artwork that dulled in modernity.
Homer: I'm definitely doing him a favour! But also you, how is your generation to build a gender-equal literary discipline on the shoulders of our core works that have historically failed you? Our House of Canon can only truly flourish once the flimsy structures of femininity that bolster it have been renovated.
Faye: That’s… actually really sensible. I’ll see you guys soon. It's getting late, I have time for one more room.
Madeline: Don't wake the lions!! (laughter)
*FOOTSTEPS *
Faye: Where to next… This should be a good start.
Bloom: A large arrow clung to the wall directing her, it read ‘Canterbury 50 metres’. As she makes the turn she finds the final room, or rather a shrine. That of…
Faye: St Thomas Beckett
Bloom: Faye rang the bell beside the grand open tracery frame, mounted by a large white crest, with three green birds and a lion, ‘ave mater mundus
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LptEFGhR7A]
Patience: Little one! you’re finally here. Why so shocked – what, you’ve never seen a Nigerian lady before?
Faye: I'm not shocked, I just…
Patience: You think I don't belong here? Most people think that, and it's understandable, at first glance we are pretty different – I'm actually just looking after an old friend. I am Patience, Patience Agbabi.
Faye: What do you do?
Patience: I’m a writer like everyone else here, you could call my literature, intersectional or post-colonial feminist.
Faye: Inter…what?
*cut *
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViDtnfQ9FHc]
ANGUS GREINER HOUSE OF CANON
Patience: Take a seat.
Faye: So, if you’re an intersectional feminist, is this not like your hell? A bunch of dead white dudes. Wouldn’t you diametrically oppose everything this place represents?
Patience: If that's the case, why do you think I wrote telling tales?
Faye: Well, to subvert Chaucer's work of course.
Patience: (laughter) Well let’s talk about that, I take each of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and transpose them to a 21st century society. Creating powerful transnational female voices, using Nigerian pidgin and utilising the poetic form to emphasise spoken word, I enable critique and reflection upon the vast differences between the Middle Ages and contemporary society.
Faye: But what differences?
Patience: Well, differences in the gender and ethnic makeup of my characters. To reflect the more gender equal, multicultural society in which we exist, owing to the advances and increase in social mobility and the migration of people that was impossible in the times in which Chaucer was writing. Take my ‘Wife of Bafa’, which I set in a particular socio-economic context. By placing her as a woman from Nigeria, I emulate the social otherness of a woman in the andro-centric world of the Middle Ages, through an ethnic framework. I bring this Middle Ages magnum opus forward 600 years and into the tongue of the African diaspora, the eyes of the modern woman, out of the darkness of an ageing Western Canon and into the light of a burgeoning Global Canon.
Faye: Where’s Chaucer then, can I ask?
Patience: Just over here, when I found him, he wasn’t doing too well…
*LIFE SUPPORT *
Patience: But he’s getting better.
Chaucer: I thought I was gonna die here… and if it wasn’t for Ms Agbabi I think I would have been right.
Patience: Don’t say such things, you are safe now, you are healthy yet again - that is, your voice no longer lives in the white man, but in the African woman and thus everywhere in between. The Canon is not dead but the Western part is. For we are now a Global Canon, one unfettered by race and gender and unshackled from an east west dichotomy, liberated from the eyes of the few and celebrated in the eyes of the many… Come little one, let us leave this place.
Faye: But what about Chaucer?
Patience: He is coming with us.
Chaucer: I’m afraid I don’t know the way.
Patience: Take my hand… I'll show you the way.
(OUTSIDE AGAIN )
*Footsteps as they talk in the background fade into Bloom*
Bloom: Thank you for accompanying me on this walk through the House of Canon, as our conversation ends today kno-
Faye: You think this conversation’s over? It’s only just beginning. Quick, we need to catch up… it’s time for me to show you the way.
BIBIOGRAPHY
• Brooks, Ann. (1998) Postfeminisms Feminism, Cultural Theory and Cultural Forms Routledge.
• Gray, F., & Bray, J. (1985). The Mind as a Theatre: Radio Drama since 1971. New Theatre Quarterly 1(3), 292-300. doi:10.1017/S0266464X00001676
• Atwood, Margaret 'Helen of Troy does Countertop Dancing' https:// poets.org/poem/helen-troy¬does-countertop-dancing
• Zimmerman, Tegan 'She — nature, woman, Goddess': mythic, ethical and poetic feminist discourse in Margaret Atwood's Marsh Languages' and Luce Irigaray's In the Beginning She Was https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1464700121995019
• HAGOOD, MACK. "The Scholarly Podcast: Form and Function in Audio Academia." Saving New Sounds: Podcast Preservation and Historiography, edited by Jeremy Wade Morris and Eric Hoyt, University of Michigan Press, 2021, pp. 181-94.
• Eliot, T. S. "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock."
• Sound Design, Jonathan Mitchell. https://transom.org/2018/sound-designjonathan-mitchell/ Westerkamp, H (1972) Listening and soundmaking: a study of music-as-environment, Simon Fraser University Press
• Gibson, A. (1996). Towards A Postmodern Theory Of Narrative. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
• Wayne, T. 'NPR Voice' Has Taken Over the Airwaves (2015)
• MERTENS, JACOB, et al. "Drifting Voices: Studying Emotion and Pitch in Podcasting with Digital Tools." Saving New Sounds: Podcast Preservation and Historiography, edited by Jeremy Wade Morris and Eric Hoyt, University of Michigan Press, 2021, pp. 154-78.
• Wissmann, T. & Zimmermann, S. (2015). Sound in Media: Audio Drama and AudioGuided Tours as stimuli for the Creation of Place. GeoJournal 80(6), 803-810
• Copeland, Stacey. McGregor, Hannah 'A Guide to Academic Podcasting' https:// scholars.w1u.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=boolcs
"The Listener" by Lachlan Davidson (Core Performance) "Moanin" by Charles Mingus (Elective Performance) (Leo Pellegrino solo adaptation) "Dat Dere" by Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers (Elective Performance)
My major work consists of three Music 2 pieces of “Moanin’” by Charles Mingus, “The Listener” by Lachlan Davidson and “Dat Dere” by Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers, and three Music Extension Performance pieces of “Helter Skelter” by Lachlan Davidson, “Beat Me” by Barry Cockroft, and the Latin salsa feel of “Chips n Salsa” by Gerald Albright which have been inspired by both performers such as Leo Pellegrino and Gerald Albright and composers such as Charles Mingus and Lachlan Davidson.
My investigation into the fusion genre is reflected in my Music 2 repertoire through my exploration of the intersection between dissonant jazz harmonic progressions in the early jazz pieces of “Moanin”, “Dat dere” and the smooth lyrical jazz melodies of Lachlan Davidson in “The Listener”. The big band form of these early jazz pieces allowed me to develop my improvisatory skills as I worked with the condensed instrumentation of keys, drums and bass as I played predominantly as a soloist. I continued my investigation of these extended techniques by making use of harmonic overtones and multiphonics through my highly experimental piece “Beat Me” by Barry Cockcroft which I played unaccompanied as a solo piece.
In the process of selecting arrangements and arranging “Moanin”, I maintained Mingus’ self-proclaimed “extended form” whilst integrating Leo Pellegrino’s BBC Proms solo, which gave me insights into the way the composer and performer interact, especially through the improvisatory character of many of my bebop-type pieces.
I would like to thank Mr Watters, Ms Thomas, Mr Walder and Mr Bellemore as well as the entire Music faculty for the countless extra hours and effort they went to in supporting us on this journey.
MUSIC EXTENSION
"Chips N’ Salsa" by Gerald Albright (Ensemble Performance)
"Helter Skelter" by Lachlan Davidson (Solo 1 Performance) "Beat Me" by Barry Cockroft (Solo 2 Performance)
REFLECTION STATEMENT
Throughout the course of my study of Music 2 and Music Extension, I selected performance pieces from a broad range of genres and styles which have informed my borrowing of various experimental techniques and tonal palettes. In the process of practising and refining these pieces during my HSC year, I have continually developed ways of reinterpreting these pieces, reflecting my investigation into fusion idioms.
Watch Lachlan's performances here
2 &
LACHLAN EASDOWN
Our performance allowed us to improve as performers, as we understood each other’s perspectives in the construction of the story.
Joe Calleia, Luke Fish, Harrison Hadley, Juach Juach and Jack Treacy
Murphy Mining Brothers
REFLECTION STATEMENT
Our HSC self-devised Group Performance Murphy Mining Brothers based the contextually relevant recent power shortages which, in part, were catalysed by the evolution of powerful political figures manifesting a net-zero carbon emission in Australia. We hyperbolised these powerful political figures to examine their greed and thirst for power which evidently displays their corruption. In the creation of this idea, we realised the innumerable depth of comedic and dramatic potential this narrative had, to create a piece that was not only concise and clear, yet overall entertaining.
The main theme for this piece revolves around family – specifically the way it is affected when corruption or hardships arrive, which allowed us to create a contextually accurate, yet furthermore, emotive story. We subverted the natural ideals that politicians profess to always act for the benefit of society, but more so only as a mode of obtaining attention from the public to sustain power. In the creation of this piece, we utilised the central prop of an umbrella to represent a range of different objects, such as a desk, pickaxe, mining shaft, a drill, and more.
Our performance allowed us to improve as performers, as we understood each other’s perspectives in the construction of the story. This was done through sharing constructive feedback about character, costumes, facial expressions, voice dynamics, and physicality. This, combined with the extensive feedback given to us by all the amazing teachers who helped us in the construction of this project, helped to produce a piece that we are all very proud of. We are also notably very grateful that COVID did not interrupt this year in a way that it has impacted the past two years so greatly, and it is a gift that we were able to perform this for the community to enjoy.
SCRIPT
All begin in the mine shaft, four pulls until we get to the top. After that, Harry and Jack get out and step forward…
Everyone: Welcome to Murphy Mining Brothers!
Jack: Hi, my name's Mitch, I'm the youngest of the bunch. I’ve got a brain for numbers and am the financial manager of our coal mining joint. Years ago I heard, all anyone ever cared about around these barren plains was cattle n’ water, but little did we know, beneath our withering fields and thirsty livestock was a serious amount of coal, and a serious bit of money to make from it.
You see, our family has been here in Toowoomba since the start. We’ve seen others come and go, such as the Turners, the Finnegans, and even the Oates…
Harry: But not the Murphys… (move upstage) G’day, Matt’s the name and coal’s the game. I’ve been in Toowoomba for all 37 years of my life… unfortunately in that time though… my wife died… five years ago. But luckily, I have four great pickaxes to keep me company
( Actors transform to pickaxes)
… I got Schnipper and Whipper, ripper and… my pride possession. Rusty. This bad boy dug up the first bit of coal for this business. It's been my trusty pickaxe ever since. I love this little family we've set up here. (speaking slowly)
JJ: Hi, I’m Michael. We as a team here at Murphy mining brothers work as hard as we can to better our community and give life to our town of Toowoomba. Work can get quite physical around here. Just last week I threw my bloody back out. But nothing
JOE CALLEIA, LUKE FISH, HARRISON HADLEY, JUACH JUACH, JACK TREACY MURPHY
beats coming home after a hard day’s work and being greeted with a hard-earned feed… Do you mind getting me my apple pie darling?
Jack: Yes darling
Luke: I’ll take that. G’day - I’m Morris, and I’m your local average hard working chap. Pie the delicious pie quench my hunger, ah ha nah Just kidding, I love coal I’d eat that if I could and I love what it does for my lovely family. Because life can be tough supporting a family. This year I’ve had to pay for dad’s insurance, then their mortgage, the kids’ school fees have increased, and commodity prices have increased – but things are looking up, I can feel it, and with my family beside me, what more could a man want? (everyone smiles cheerfully)
[From desk]
Joe: G'day - I’m Bruce, the managing director of the company and the oldest of us Murphy brothers. While I'm no stranger to hard work, I've always been more of the businessman of the family. I'm kept pretty busy – spend a lot of my days working with the community, most of whom we employ! Community feedback is a core of our business; after all, nothing breeds success more than a happy and motivated workforce!
[Phone ringing noise]
Joe: Hello, Bruce Murphy speaking.
Harry: Hey Brucie, just wondering if we have the greenlight to get started over here.
Joe: All peachy here Matty, you’re good to get going!
[ form drill with JT at front, in order of spoken lines]
Jack: (nerdy) Boys, I have done the calculations and well, things are going smooth enough for us to raise our wages!
Harry: Our coal makes a lot of money for Toowoomba believe me, but also makes a shedload of cash for the government, cuz you know they take a slice of every black rock we dig up.
JJ: But we’re okay with that because we know these pollies spend that money to help other Australians, paying for doctors, and hospitals, and looking after the oldies.
MURPHY MINING BROTHERS
Luke: Profits are through the roof, and the community has been pretty bloody well off. All of us are fed, and all of us are family.
[Transition into politicians]
Everybody: [Guttural laughing]
Everybody: Welcome!
Joe: … to the 31st Energy Conference for the Great Australian Party! Gentlemen, we are losing power and it's all because of these bloody renewables.
[Cursing and yelling from others]
JJ: Even the bloody poms are running on renewables now, it's rubbish!
Joe: Even America, the biggest fuel guzzler in the world, is starting to get into this renewables crap!
Harry: It’s ridiculous!
Luke: Unbelievable!
Jack: And now they expect us to do the same?
Harry: It's unfair…
JJ: It’s un-Australian!
Joe: Yes gentlemen, but I have a proposal. In order to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to net zero, let's close down some of the smaller industry players; demonstrate to the public our initiative in phasing out the coal industry for renewables such making a “revolutionary” energy project in Toowoomba
Harry: Yes, we need Toowoomba – the land is perfect, it’s out of sight out of mind but still makes us look good.
Luke: Very good and we keep the big players, like Glencore and BHP?
Jack: It’s perfect!
[Everyone mutters in agreement]
Joe: Alright then, let’s draft up a letter to send to the smaller companies.
JOE CALLEIA, LUKE FISH, HARRISON HADLEY, JUACH JUACH, JACK TREACY
Harry: Dear members of the Mining & Energy Industry in Australia…
JJ: We regret to inform you that as part of our commitment to net zero and renewable energy…
Jack: All operations of companies contributing less than 5% of Australia's gross annual energy…
[Everyone looks from the letter to the audience]
Everyone: Will be discontinued as of next year.
[Evil laugh then wake up as miners. All in different houses already awake and doing morning
routines: JJ brushing teeth, Harry eating breakfast, etc. Joe wakes up yawning and checks phone]
Joe: WHAT THE FU-
[EVERYONE ELSE INTERRUPTS WITH TWITTER SOUND]
[Everyone lifts up their phones to look]
Everyone: WHAT
[Everyone puts phone to ear]
(NEXT DIALOGUE IS OVER THE TOP OF ONE ANOTHER)
Fitzy’s pub, one hour.
[Everyone leans against the bar together in a line]
Everyone together: Gday Fitzy…
Harry: Iron Jack (mumbling)
JJ: VB
Joe: Bourbon.
Jack: 4X
Luke: Could I get a glass of rosé please?
[In unison look at Luke judgementally, then in unison, take a sip of their drink]
MURPHY MINING BROTHERS
JJ: So what exactly are they saying?
Luke: It’s simple Michael, the pollies are saying they’re gonna shut down anyone contributing less than 5% to the nation’s energy each year. So we are fine.
[Take another sip of their drinks and go “ahhh” ]
Jack: (scramble papers) We are currently at two and a half percent.
Luke: What? No no no…
Jack: To double our output, we could expand our claim to the east…
All: Expand to the east?
Fish: Isn’t that a little close to Toowoomba River?
Jack: But nobody will know except us, I say we just do it.
Harry: I guess but it just feels wrong.
Jack: Excellent! In that case, we ought to get back to mining, back to marketing, and back to selling!
Jack: Toowoomba, come get your coal!
Hadley: Keeps ya warm
Luke: Tastes delicious
JJ: Gets your car going
Joe: Gives us light
Everyone: Everyone! This is coal, don’t be afraid of it!
Harry: At first things were looking up for us, and the piles of waste rock started off small. But, within a few months they became pretty substantial. Rain finally came through here last week, [beat] the first bit Toowoomba's seen in a couple years now, and all the waste started to run through the river. Everyone at the river took notice quickly.
Joe: Regardless, “you don’t see any families by the water on the weekends anymore,” Mitch kept saying.
JOE CALLEIA, LUKE FISH, HARRISON HADLEY, JUACH JUACH, JACK TREACY
Jack: “Everything will be ok, the waste will just get rid of itself.”
JJ: But really, our expansion east felt the worst. The community we loved started to turn on us. It was only a few stragglers but it raised a lot of noise.… I can still hear them [GIVE IT BACK, GIVE IT BACK!].
But we had to keep the mines going (taps the others, all walk around small circle then cross in middle and change characters) no matter how hard it was.
Back to politicians
Luke: Gentleman, we are phasing out coal brilliantly.
JJ: Our scheme is working a treat, and we are one step closer to Toowoomba.
Joe: They put up a great fight
Hadley: Yes, people aren’t happy about them being shut down
Jack: They put up a great fight, let’s start a campaign to defeat those fools.
Harry: Show them who is in control
[Luke is in centre]
[All look at Luke evilly]
Everyone but JJ: Dear Murphy Mining Brothers
JJ: What (like he is hearing voices)
Harry and Luke: Your company has caused harm to the people of Toowoomba
Everybody but JJ: We will now be in full control of the Murphy Mining Brothers
Luke: It’s all gone?
[Transition back to miners, in mine shaft like at the very start except JJ replaces Jack. Everyone starts down like they’re all going to go up, but only Harry and JJ actually go up. The rest stay frozen.
Spotlight on actors once down like at the start. As boys step forward, expand lights to the rest of the stage, just like at the start.
As Harry and JJ step forward, others open umbrella and hide behind it.]
MURPHY MINING BROTHERS
Harry and JJ: [solemnly with an air of sarcasm] Welcome to Murphy Mining Brothers…
Harry: Except it's just us two now, and we ain’t really much of a company anymore…
Bruce: I left to Sydney
Morris n’ Mitch: We left to Darwin.
JJ and Hadley: We are the only ones left. [ JJ nods]
[ Jack and Fish step forward ]
JJ: Everyone began to hate us, our ambition tipped us over the edge. We had to stop everything, and with that the town's power went too…
BLACKOUT
Everyone: Goodbye Toowoomba.
[Beat, then turn torches off ]
JOE CALLEIA, LUKE FISH, HARRISON HADLEY, JUACH JUACH, JACK TREACY
36 DRAMA GROUP PERFORMANCE
JOE CALLEIA, LUKE FISH, HARRISON HADLEY, JUACH JUACH, JACK TREACY
MURPHY MINING BROTHERS
‘A Purple Picture’ was borne out of my faith in the power of language to unite, I came to understand the unique space in which effective political language operates
ENGLISH
Sam Kearney A Purple Picture
REFLECTION STATEMENT
In a world of growing hate and division, haunted by the looming spectre of autocracy, I have found it difficult to remain faithful to democracy’s bedrock - political language. However, I remain cognisant of language’s ability to unify and strengthen communities, from Julia Gillard’s misogyny speech to Kevin Rudd’s apology to the Stolen Generations. While my hybridised political satire ‘A Purple Picture’ was borne out of my faith in the power of language to unite, I came to understand the unique space in which effective political language operates. Ellison’s notion of a “purple picture”, which is the perfect blend of colours to generate extraordinary beauty, formed the foundation of my work; mixing red and blue creates ideal political discourse, and when these primary colours are combined, the world is transformed.
I do not dare to provide a definitive solution to the linguistic crisis plaguing modern Australia. Instead, this work is truly an embrace of language’s flawed, beautiful complexity. It is an invitation to the audience to demand the best of their political leaders and fight for a language that reflects us as humans, imperfectly perfect but grounded in truth and mutual respect. Anthony Albanese’s Garma Festival address is a glimpse of purple hope; I implore my audience to grab onto it with all their might and don’t ever let go.
FOREWORD
I do not wish to waste your time in a lengthy foreword; however, there is one point I must make clear. The original script was created for an Australian context in 2022 to critique the appalling state of political discourse, advocate for change to that system, and to bring together the disparate threads of language in modern Australia and blend them into a deep “purple picture ”, the ideal form of democratic discourse. However, the composition and protection of the “purple picture ” is an ongoing process that must continually be reignited to prevent the malicious misuse of language for personal or political gain.
The exploitation of language hinders democracy. Only ongoing critical evaluation by the public can resolve this crisis, which is why this play and others like it must remain discussed, performed, and consumed. In that spirit this script has been specifically written so that future playwrights can alter characters, settings, names, and parts of dialogue to make the key message of the play relevant to their contextual concerns. Sadly, this story is flexible and timeless and avoidable.
It is my desire that this script, and more broadly language both political and apolitical, be used nobly: to provide each of us with a voice; for communication, for advocacy and for identity, enabling us to contribute to the 65, 000-year-old community that is Australia.
Characters
Michel Foucault
A middle-aged man. Bald, clean-shaven and wears large square-style glasses. Grey tweed pants, a leather belt, and a white turtleneck. Speaks with a strong French accent. Dialogue is fast-paced, dismissive, and often sarcastic.
Perspective: Approaches political discourse by analysing its use in building, reinforcing, and maintaining power. Sees discourse as all-encompassing but subjective and fluid; its meaning changes with the social values and conventions of its context.
SAMUEL KEARNEY
Marcus Tullius Cicero
A middle-aged to older man. Balding but still has hair and is clean-shaven. Wears a toga trabea and speaks with an Italian accent. Speaks with a very dramatic tone.
Perspective: Approaches political discourse as integral to the functioning of any government. Sees discourse as a performative, dramatic relationship between the orator and the receiver in which each party takes on roles that the other must seek to convince. Advocated for a return to more simplistic discourse and language in which the everyday citizen can make their voice heard. He described his oratory model as: “Docere, Delectare, Movere ” – “To Teach, To Delight, To Move ”
Eric Arthur Blair – George Orwell
Young to middle-aged man. Thick black hair and a moustache. Wears a tweed suit with a patchwork tie and speaks in upper received pronunciation.
Perspective: Orwell sees insincerity as the greatest challenge to discourse. That is, when an orator seeks to hide their true intentions, they inevitably move to long, meaningless, and complex language that corrupts thought and identity. He argues that users of language must actively choose to diverge from this to a more practical, clear, and true discourse.
Lucky
Lucky is a woman. She carries a heavy bag, a folding stool, a picnic basket, a greatcoat, and a rope passed around her neck.
Perspective: She laments the failure of theorists, philosophers, academics, and humanity in general to create a discourse that advances and improves the majority of people's quality of life. She calls for immediate change from the status quo to a simplistic language that serves both its users and receivers, is not overanalysed, and is not open to manipulation.
These characters are archetypes and can be played by a small ensemble of performers who play every character in each of these scenes, or they can be individual performers.
Politicians
Speaker
Prime Minister
Opposition Leader
Government Member
Opposition Member
A PURPLE PICTURE
Public Service
Secretary to the Department of Defence
Assistant Secretary to the Department of Defence
Journalist
Advocacy Group
O Member
W Member
Celebrity 1
Celebrity 2
Ensemble
Media
News Anchor 1
News Anchor 2
News Anchor 3
Note on Set:
The main stage (Stage 1) is bare, apart from set pieces brought on for each vignette. The entire upstage wall will be a screen. In front of and separated from the main stage will be an ovular dais (Stage 2). The main stage will be 1.5m higher than the dais. This dais will have a circular table and six chairs: three for the theorists and three empty. A large, frosted glass sphere with a LED inside will be suspended above the centre of the table on the dais. There will be a small square platform suspended above and stage left of the main stage. LUCKY will remain on this platform for much of the play.
Scene One
There is a blue glow on LUCKY who is suspended above Stage 1 on a small square platform. A large bag, picnic basket, stool and greatcoat sit next to her and there is a rope around her neck. White LEDs light Stage 2, with a spotlight on the centre table. The sphere light is off. CICERO stands behind the desk which has three glasses and a jug of water on it, intensely studying an open scroll. ‘RECORD OF PAST LANGUAGE REVIEWS’ is written on the back of the scroll. After about ten seconds FOUCAULT and ORWELL enter from stage left.
CICERO: You sure took your time (annoyed ).
FOUCAULT: It’s not like we are running out of it anytime soon.
ENGLISH SCRIPT
SAMUEL KEARNEY
ORWELL: Besides, the latest influx of spiritual beings was rather excited to see us.
CICERO: Right. Well, we best get into it, don’t want it to run into next year again…
FOUCAULT: Whose fault was that again?
CICERO: (ignoring him, he stands) I hereby…
ORWELL: Apologies. One question. The purpose of the empty chairs?
CICERO: Let’s just say they weren’t meant to be empty. (Under his breath but audible to audience) I made sure they were. ( Back to normal volume) I hereby call the approximately 138, 608th Human Language Review open. I remind my colleagues that we would like to advance through this year’s review with as little conflict as possible. For the minutes, I will ask the members of the panel to introduce themselves and note that our female and youth representatives, unfortunately, could not make it today, and neither could our representative from the Australian First Nations people. As the Chair I shall begin. (CICERO walks around the dais using over-dramatic arm gestures throughout) I am Marcus Tullius Cicero, the great Roman orator, fighting for a voice to the people, giving them a guide for expression. A guide for creating a discourse of advocacy, a mechanism for becoming the orator they desperately need to be because thoughts cannot be allowed to shine without the light of language. I rest.
CICERO sits down. ORWELL is rolling his eyes and sighs as FOUCAULT stands up.
FOUCALT: I am Michel Foucault, it's my hypothesis that the individual is not a pregiven entity that is seized on by the exercise of power (bangs the desk with his knuckles). The individual, with his identity and characteristics, is the product of a relation of power exercised over bodies (bang), multiplicities (bang), movements (bang), desires (bang), and forces (bang), and it is language that binds and fuels those relations (bang).
FOUCAULT sits down and ORWELL stands up.
ORWELL: (Spoken like a radio presenter) I am Eric Arthur Blair. I believe prose consists less and less of words chosen for the sake of their meaning, and more and more of phrases tacked together like the sections of a prefabricated henhouse. What is needed, above all, is to let the meaning choose the word, and not the other way about.
ORWELL sits down, as FOUCAULT silently giggles disapprovingly. LUCKY groans and moves about as if about to speak then CICERO presses a button on his remote which makes the blue light on LUCKY flash once, silencing him.
A PURPLE PICTURE
CICERO: (Ignoring what just happened ) Thank you noble gentlemen. Now, our review has been assigned to Australia.
ORWELL: How quaint!
FOUCAULT: I do not see the need. Considering there are football clubs in that nation using my work. Football clubs.
ORWELL: I would agree. I have a memory of a paper I read about the Japanese prisoner of war camps. I believe it said the Americans were the great individualists of the camps, the capitalists, the cowboys, the gangsters. The British hung on to their class structure like bulldogs, for grim death; how predictable. The Australians kept trying to construct little male-bonded welfare states…
CICERO: Despite their seemingly plebian-like demeanour their politics are as nasty as the Roman senate. We shall be assessing the state of political discourse within this nation, and I must warn you that they are exhibiting incredibly worrying signs of decay…
ORWELL: Not another America?
CICERO: Not yet, but I am afraid it bears the same markers of decline…
FOUCAULT: Considering Georgy’s last failure, perhaps his presence is counterproductive?
ORWELL: I seem to remember a certain, very tanned man, failing to comprehend your tome of recommendations Michel.
FOUCAULT: If you think I was bad, wait until you encounter Derrida my friend. At least my most popular work is not a manual for totalitarianism everywhere. Can you say the same?
CICERO: Enough. We are not failing again. At the completion of our review, we must disseminate concrete solutions into the minds of capable Australians. Are we ready to begin?
ORWELL nods.
FOUCAULT: One moment, please.
FOUCAULT moves very slowly. He takes a glass, fills it with water, drinks the whole glass and then refills it with water. The other two men stare at him with rising anger.
SAMUEL KEARNEY
CICERO: Ready?
FOUCAULT: What? We have plenty of time. The orb is still unlit.
CICERO glares at FOUCAULT
FOUCAULT: (taking his time) Ready.
CICERO: (badly hiding anger) Thank you.
CICERO pulls out his remote, holds it up to the audience, points it to Stage 1, presses a button and the lights go out on Stage 2 and up on Stage 1.
Scene Two
There is a blue glow on LUCKY who is suspended above Stage 1 on a small square platform. A warm Fresnel wash lights Stage 1. A table with two despatch boxes on the left and right sides sits in centre stage. There are two chairs facing each other on either side of the table and one facing the audience upstage of the table. An image of the Australian House of Representatives chamber is shown on the upstage screen. SPEAKER sits in the upstage chair, PRIME MINISTER stands at the stage right despatch box while GOVERNMENT MEMBER sits on the stage right chair. OPPOSITION LEADER sits on the stage left chair while OPPOSITION MEMBER stands at the stage left despatch box.
PRIME MINISTER: (Throughout this the OPPOSITION LEADER and MEMBER are booing and shouting at the PRIME MINISTER, amplified by a soundtrack playing from the parliament of members interjecting) Mr Speaker, those opposite are hopeless excuses for an opposition, pandering to Australia’s biggest polluters. They want Australia to be like that movie – The Croods – never leaving the cave. Mr Speaker they are even led by a weak man beholden to the fossil fuel unions. He’s like a lizard on a rock, alive but looking dead (the shouting from the opposition erupts as the GOVERNMENT MEMBER shouts back).
SPEAKER: The Prime Minister will resume his seat. The Opposition Member has the call.
OPPOSITION MEMBER: Mr Speaker, I move that the Prime Minister must withdraw that unfounded and undignified slur (cheers are heard ).
SPEAKER: The Prime Minister will withdraw.
A PURPLE PICTURE
PRIME MINISTER: (smirking) Of course I withdraw Mr Speaker, but that does not detract from the incompetent rabble opposite who are all talk no action, no matter what the desiccated coconut who leads them might say (shouting erupts) …
OPPOSITION MEMBER sits down as OPPOSITION LEADER stands up
SPEAKER: The Opposition Leader has the call. The Prime Minister will resume his seat.
OPPOSITION LEADER: Sit down boofhead!
Shouts erupt and the OPPOSITION MEMBER stands up and points at the PRIME MINISTER while banging his head with his fist. The PRIME MINISTER laughs as he pulls out his phone and turns his back to the OPPOSITION LEADERSPEAKER: The Opposition Leader will withdraw.
OPPOSITION LEADER: Of course, I will happily withdraw and simply draw attention to the fact that those opposite have absolutely nothing to say but petty insults. Mr Speaker they are poor representatives of their community who have simply achieved nothing and continue to degrade public debate. Oh wait, I am wrong, it seems their one achievement is destroying Australia’s international standing. You would think the foreign minister might actually think before she opens her big fat trap and says stupid things in this parliament (hear-hear is heard ).
GOVERNMENT MEMBER moves to the despatch box.
SPEAKER: Government Member has the call.
GOVERNMENT MEMBER: Mr Speaker, I suggest to the Opposition Leader that if he wants to continue ridiculing the Prime Minister, may he please do it without the insults he feigns to disdain. Perhaps the hypocrite is not capable of that. Although, in all honesty, debating with him is like being flogged by warm lettuce. (Loud uproar from the opposition side) He should also remember how privileged he is because even now, not far from here, such protest is being met with bullets, but not here, Mr Speaker, not to them in this country.
Noise erupts from both sides. The PRIME MINISTER stands up and shakes his hand, with fingers in a ‘V’ shape vigorously at the OPPOSITION LEADER while laughing. The OPPOSTION LEADER is still at the despatch box.
OPPOSITION MEMBER: Hang in your badge Adolf!
SPEAKER: The Government Member and Opposition Member will withdraw!
SAMUEL KEARNEY
GOVERNMENT MEMBER: I withdraw (he steps back).
OPPOSITION MEMBER: Of course, the same.
SPEAKER: The Opposition Leader.
OPPOSITION LEADER: Thank you Mr Speaker. I suggest to my colleague opposite that his racist kind is unworthy of anything other than insult Mr Speaker. Indeed, they are the cockroaches of this place (uproar from both sides).
SPEAKER: The Opposition Leader will withdraw!
OPPOSITION LEADER: Apologies Mr Speaker. The prejudiced, hateful, and racist government who said, and I quote, ‘January 26 wasn’t a flash day for the people on those vessels either’. I do not mind when the election is Mr Speaker, because I am going to enjoy doing you slowly.
GOVERNMENT MEMBER: At least I keep my legs shut!
Shouts, boos, and cheers erupt from both sides as the four politicians on stage shout and ridicule each other in chaos. They stand up and yell over the table. Pointing at each other and making obscene, farcical, and exaggerated physical insults with their bodies.
SPEAKER: Order! Order! I will have order! (He is ignored )
The four men get on the table and start wrestling with each other until they are lying on the table while the SPEAKER continues to shout. The chaos continues until with a snap it ends as the lights on Stage 1 blackout and come up on Stage 2.
Scene Three
There is a blue glow on LUCKY who is suspended above Stage 1 on a small square platform. A large bag, picnic basket and stool sit next to her, there is a rope around her neck, and she has picked up the greatcoat. White LEDS light Stage 2, with a spotlight on the centre table. CICERO is holding the remote up and presses the button just as the lights change. The sphere is flashing red very slowly.
CICERO: Fascinating.
FOUCAULT: Isn’t it.
ORWELL: Almost primitive.
A PURPLE PICTURE
CICERO: Animalistic. Reminds me of the republic. Ahh, the good days …
ORWELL: It was horrific. Not a single word had any beneficial meaning. Simply a string of insults with no grand strategy… and look at the orb.
CICERO: (Worried ) It is fine, just a slow pulse, still plenty of time before the nation collapses.
FOUCAULT: (Condescendingly) Now, now George. We must remember that those words are a mechanism for their maintenance of power. Perhaps it is just in their nonsensical nature that lies the genius. Too hard for the common voter to follow.
ORWELL: It is language designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind. This is far worse than we thought.
FOUCAULT: Ambitious of you to be so sure, isn’t it Georgy?
ORWELL: George, sir, it is George. It is not. Consider where they started: with climate change, with one leader calling out the other for inaction. When, in reality, both are united in their inaction and severely beholden to the groups they condemn. What were the numbers again Cicero?
CICERO flicks though several pages.
CICERO: Ahh, here we are. Nearly $500,000 to the red party and over $1,000,000 to the blue party.
ORWELL: Precisely. Simply giving solidity to absolute wind. It is quite disgraceful if I do say so myself. This is a disaster; they are nearly too far gone.
FOUCAULT: Give it a rest Georgy. Your conclusions are quite juvenile. Consider the fact that their context shapes the meaning of the words. All this extraneous information is irrelevant, the insults help them maintain power within the specific context of parliament. Think a little bit more.
ORWELL is growing visibly angry.
CICERO: Michel our job is not to praise them it is to prevent…you know what.
ORWELL: To prevent this. (To CICERO) May I?
CICERO nods. ORWELL takes the remote off CICERO and presses a button. An excerpt from a debate between Donald Trump and Joseph Biden plays on the back screen from 1:40 to 2:05. Transcript:
ENGLISH SCRIPT
SAMUEL KEARNEY
BIDEN: A lot of people died, and a lot more are gonna die unless he gets a lot smarter a lot quicker
MODERATOR: Mr. President
TRUMP: Did you use the word smart? Ahh… So you said you went to Delaware State, but you forgot the name of your college. (BIDEN laughs) You didn’t go to Delaware State. You graduated either the lowest or almost the lowest in your class. Don’t ever use the word smart with me, don’t ever use that word.
BIDEN: Oh, give me a break.
TRUMP: Because you know what, there’s nothing smart about you Joe.
The screen turns off
CICERO: Thank Jupiter they are not that far gone.
FOUCAULT: He is a master isn’t he. It's funny. All you must do is say something nobody understands, and they'll do practically anything you want them to.
ORWELL: Michel, snap out of it. Don’t you see how Australia is sitting on a knife edge? Look at the orb!
FOUCAULT ignores him.
CICERO: Orwell is right. We must move quickly before Machiavelli’s legacy becomes any more destructive.
CICERO raises the remote and presses the button. BLACKOUT on Stage 2 and lights up on Stage 1.
Scene Four
There is a blue glow on LUCKY who is suspended above Stage 1 on a small square platform. There is a sharp, white spotlight on the SECRETARY and ASSISTANT SECRETARY and a sharp, white spotlight on the journalist. There are two lecterns in centre stage next to each other. The screen displays the Defence Department logo. There is a desk extreme downstage where the JOURNALIST sits facing the lecterns, with back to the audience, the entire scene. The two departmental officials speak almost robotically and, at times, painfully slowly. After the lights come up, the SECRETARY enters from stage left, and the ASSISSTANT SECRETARY enters from stage right. They move symmetrically and march very robotically, pausing after every step. They walk until they reach the lectern on their side and stand tall, with arms completely straight
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by their sides, facing the audience. ‘Vader’s Redemption’ (A reworked version of The Imperial March by John Williams in a Major Key by Ian Gordon) plays throughout their entrance until they are stood still at the lecterns.
JOURNALIST: Thank you to both of you for agreeing to this interview.
SECRETARY: Our pleasure, it is vital that we communicate the strategic realities to the Australian populace writ large.
ASST. SECRETARY: Seconded.
JOURNALIST: What do you think is the greatest defence challenge facing Australia?
SECRETARY: (Takes a long sip of water) We live in a challenging world and as such there are a variety of multi-faceted, highly specific, and unique strategic blockades facing us as a nation and a member of a region…
ASST. SECRETARY: Precisely. It is in fact that challenge that is the greatest challenge.
JOURNALIST: The challenge being?
SECRETARY: As I said: the unique strategic blockades.
JOURNALIST: Which are?
ASST. SECRETARY: Highly dangerous, volatile, and diverse trials…
JOURNALIST: I think we’ll move on. Was the Solomon Islands’ recent deal with China your fault?
SECRETARY: That is a complex question.
ASST. SECRETARY: Indeed, a compound one.
SECRETARY: It was induced by a succession of global, domestic, foreign, regional, international, and malicious factors that are unpredictable and require newfound efforts to combat.
ASST. SECRETARY: Indeed, we have never lived in a more hazardous world. Our region is sitting on the precipice of possible, however avoidable, although conceivable, perhaps large, or then again localised, but altogether destructive skirmishes, potential conflict, that could, in the foreseeable future be considered war, but then again may never develop to that benchmark.
SAMUEL KEARNEY
SECRETARY: Commendably seconded.
JOURNALIST: Final question for the two of you then. Should Australia send troops to Ukraine?
ASST. SECRETARY: The situation is, has, was and will for the foreseeable future be highly volatile.
SECRETARY: It is indeed a hot issue, which may make it inappropriate to comment on.
ASST. SECRETARY: Except to say that, which has already been said, this is a complex issue and as always, the Department, its subsidiaries, arms, and offices are navigating the obstructions and contemplating the multi-faceted and various ways in which we as a united organisation can safely, and in our national interest, attempt to aid the people, state or grouping that is Ukraine or identifies as Ukrainian.
SECRETARY: Of course, that is, that has been said, what is appropriate to say.
JOURNALIST: Secretary and Assistant Secretary for Defence, thank you for your time tonight.
SECRETARY AND ASST. SECRETARY: Our gracious and unreserved gratitude for your mighty invitation.
‘Vader’s Redemption’ plays again as they robotically exit on the sides closest to their lectern. After they have exited the music stops and BLACKOUT on Stage 1 and lights up Stage 2.Scene Five
There is a blue glow on LUCKY who is suspended above Stage 1 on a small square platform. A large bag and picnic basket sit next to her, there is a rope around her neck, and she has picked up the greatcoat and stool. White LEDS light Stage 2, with a spotlight on the centre table. The sphere is flashing red, now faster than before but still slow. CICERO is holding the remote and presses the button as the lights change. FOUCAULT is sipping on a cup of coffee while ORWELL continues to look annoyed.
CICERO: That was perhaps the least engaging, most preposterous rhetoric I have ever consumed. I mean, it was boring … it was a failure.
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ORWELL: They didn’t answer a single question. Nearly every word they said was unnecessary. They are tied down to a language that makes up in obscurity what it lacks in style.
FOUCAULT: I may just agree with you two on this one. The overload of needless words eliminated any chance of gaining enough contextual understanding to ascertain meaning. The only purpose possible would be that they set out to confuse their audience.
ORWELL: Highly likely.
CICERO: I am not so sure. I have watched these kinds of people quite intently. They seem to revel in boring language, in combing dictionaries for the most complex word to express otherwise simple concepts. It’s common amongst economists but especially these men, public servants. They are possibly some of the most boring speakers to have ever donned the title of orator.
ORWELL: Are you suggesting they are well-meaning?
CICERO: I believe so. Yes. They just need more rhetorical power!
LUCKY groans and moves about as if about to speak.
ORWELL: What was that?
CICERO presses a button which makes the blue light on LUCKY flash once, silencing him.
CICERO: (suspiciously) Creaking planks I am sure…
FOUCAULT: (chuckles) Rhetorical power? What a ridiculous phrase. It is all about maintaining power, my friends. These men are not immune to the follies of their elected counterparts. They just want national power, not political power. They desire agility and freedom from the conventions established by strong rhetoric. It is their confusing language that maintains and builds their power to act.
ORWELL: That shouldn’t be the way it is.
FOUCAULT: Alas, my friend. It is the way it is.
ORWELL: Cut that tone out.
FOUCAULT: (Sensing an ability to start conflict) I am simply building a window where once there were walls, please don’t come after the glazier.
ENGLISH SCRIPT
SAMUEL KEARNEY
ORWELL: It is not about your message it is about your delivery method, and you fully understand that, sir. Their insincerity undermines those they are meant to serve. Their language corrupts real thought...
FOUCAULT: My language seems to be corrupting your real thoughts.
ORWELL: I suggest you refrain good sir and make your meaning clear. Stop hiding behind vague retorts.
CICERO: Cease at once. You both know how serious the situation is. This is not a platform for grandstanding. We must move on; they are drifting further down the path of no return as we speak. The orb has sped up! (FOUCAULT giggles as ORWELL continues to look disparaged.)
CICERO raises the remote and presses the button. BLACKOUT on Stage 2 and lights up on Stage 1.Scene Six
There is a blue glow on LUCKY who is suspended above Stage 1 on a small square platform. A warm Fresnel wash lights Stage 1. The stage is bare. On the screen there is an image of Parliament House. On stage is a lead protester (O MEMBER) dressed in an orange shirt and an opposing lead protester (W MEMBER) in a white shirt. The two advocates are handing out flyers to the ensemble. The ensemble (varying in size depending on performer numbers but at least 4) is walking around the stage accepting flyers, reading them, and reacting to the two advocates.
O MEMBER: (On a megaphone) It’s time to fight for change! Come get a shirt! Use your vote to change the government! Join the cause!
W MEMBER: ( Also on a megaphone) Don’t surrender to the radicals! If you want freedom! If you want to be able to say and do what you want, it’s time to fight back! Are you sick of lockdowns? Do you want to stop the loss of jobs due to climate action extremists? Join Us!
Slowly members of the ensemble begin falling behind each of the advocates until there is about an even number behind each. Once they have fallen behind one, they start cheering on their advocate and booing the other.
O MEMBER: Thank you all for turning out today. How great is the turnout? It’s time to make sure it doesn’t go to waste.
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W MEMBER: You lot should feel lucky you can protest, not want more. You know in other places in the world, your kind of marches are being met with bullets!
O MEMBER: This is why we need change. People like you are so tone deaf you don’t understand the idiocy of what you just said. Come on guys, ‘Out with the old, In with the new’
The O group starts chanting.
W MEMBER: That’s it! Out with the old, in with the new!
O MEMBER: They aren’t gonna get us that easy are they guys. Come on! ‘We Want Freedom’
The W group starts chanting. Both groups are now competing with chants.
W MEMBER: We Want Freedom!
The chanting continues.
O MEMBER: It’s time to bring out the big guns! Are you ready?
The O group shouts ‘Yes’ then goes back to chanting. CELEBRITY 1 runs out. As they run past the O MEMBER they hand the celebrity a densely filled envelope with ‘$10,000’ written on the outside. The celebrity takes it and moves to centre stage with cheers welcoming them from both sides.
CELEBRITY 1: Hey everyone. It’s great to be here supporting the orange team! (Boos erupt from the W side as the O side continues to cheer and the celebrity pulls out her phone and starts filming herself) Hi TikTok, all five million of you, who have been gracious enough to follow me. Let’s get down here today and support the great work they are doing. They need our help to succeed! Let’s do this.
CELEBRITY 1 is in centre stage. The TikTok remix of ‘Blinding Lights’ by The Weekend plays as CELEBRITY 1 and two members of the O group do the TikTok dance to this song. LEDs of different colours strobe across the stage during the dance.
W MEMBER: (On megaphone) Just remember you started this. Here we go.
CELEBRITY 2 runs out.
CELEBRITY 2: (Puts down her phone to film) Get down here and help the white team protect you and your family’s freedoms! Let’s fight for it!
ENGLISH SCRIPT
SAMUEL KEARNEY
The TikTok remix of ‘Say it Right’ by Nelly Furtado plays as CELEBRITY 2 and two members of the W group do the dance. The O side boos as the W side cheers. LEDs of different colours strobe across the stage during the dance.
O MEMBER: (On a megaphone) Let’s take it back to them guys!
CELEBRITY 1: Here goes it!
The TikTok remix of ‘Coincidance’ by Handsome Dancer plays. CELEBRITY 1 and O MEMBER perform the dance to this song. LEDs of different colours strobe across the stage during the dance.
W MEMBER: (On a megaphone) We’ve got one more thing in our case to make freedom win! Everyone together!
The TikTok remix of ‘Swing’ by Joel Fletcher and Savage plays. The entire W group does the ‘Trump Dance Challenge’. The TikTok of Trump dancing plays on the screen during the dance. LEDs of different colours strobe across the stage during the dance. They repeat the dance over and over as the entire O group does the same dance. The two groups dance towards each other and just before they meet the lights blackout on Stage 1 and come up on Stage 2.
Scene Seven
There is a blue glow on LUCKY who is suspended above the main stage on a small square platform. A large bag sits next to her, there is a rope around her neck, and she has picked up the greatcoat, stool, and picnic basket. White LEDS light Stage 2, with a spotlight on the centre table. The sphere is flashing red, again faster than before. CICERO is holding the remote up and presses the button just as the lights change. ORWELL looks angry at what he has just seen, FOUCAULT is chuckling, and CICERO is standing up applauding.
CICERO: Now that was some powerful stuff. That is how you work a crowd. Find what they care about and perform to them.
FOUCAULT: They were indeed successful in gaining that group’s support but as for the dancing…I am not too sure.
CICERO: It was a testament to beautiful language and the language of dance! What did Camus say “man cannot do without beauty, and this is what our era pretends to want to disregard”
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ORWELL: That was horrendous. Nothing meant anything. We are back to the start again. I will concede that these people have embraced simple vocabulary and symbolism, but it is almost too simple.
FOUCAULT: (Laughs) Too simple now, huh?
ORWELL: It is so simple it is in fact now having the same effect the over-complex language had. It has no meaning. It is simply phrases chosen to incite anger and passion rather than to convey a pre-determined meaning. Political language is broken.
CICERO: That is far from fair Mr Orwell. Those protestors gave impassioned speeches, they knew their audience and they brought out their most innate wants and needs. To be heard on the issues that matter to them. Isn’t that powerful speech? Isn’t that language providing a voice to those who have so far not been heard?
FOUCAULT: Both of you are being absurd. Orwell, language is most definitely not broken and Cicero you believe in people far too much. They chose their words for their own gain not to provide a voice. Come down from the clouds. Georgy, isn’t this just the purpose of political language, to gain power, and hence it is not ‘broken’ but rather functioning exceptionally well?
ORWELL: That is an incredibly sad way of looking at the world. These proles are indeed the path to change but they cannot achieve that if the extent of their rebellion is pre-made three-word slogans and dances. The orb agrees with me. Please look at it!
FOUCAULT: I put it you that in effect your method of critique is the ineffectual and ‘sad’ method. A critique does not consist in saying that things aren't good the way they are. It consists in seeing on just what type of assumptions, of familiar notions, of established and unexamined ways of thinking the accepted practices are based.
ORWELL: Very well, however you stop before the final step, before condemning those accepted practises and building a new convention of language, rather you just point out the self-evident: that language is being used as a power sustaining tool. As K said stop just interpreting everything!
FOUCAULT: (Dismissive) I am no prophet; it is not my job to provide the solution.
ORWELL: Then what is the point?
Both men are angry with each other now and stare silently for a moment. LUCKY groans and moves about as if about to speak.
FOUCAULT: Can someone shut that noise up…
SAMUEL KEARNEY
CICERO presses a button which makes the blue light on LUCKY flash once, silencing him.
FOUCAULT: What is the point of your work? Underground man. You ask for simplistic language yet now you critique it. Is nothing good enough for your delicate sensibilities?
CICERO: Friends, Orwell is right. We are desperately running out of time. Let us not descend into combat now, we will succeed in saving Australia. We are moving on to the media review.
CICERO raises the remote and presses the button. Lights remain up on Stage 2.
Scene Eight
There is a blue glow on LUCKY who is suspended above Stage 1 on a small square platform. There is a rope around her neck, and she has picked up the greatcoat, stool, picnic basket, and large bag. Stage 1 remains unlit. A news intro visual with music plays on the screen. This prerecorded segment of NEWS ANCHOR 1 plays when CICERO presses the button.
NEWS ANCHOR 1: Welcome to 8:30, I’m Samantha Band. Tonight, we cover the day that was in politics. A controversial vote in the Senate, a new opposition leader, and we’ll be interviewing the new Treasurer. Later we’ll bring you coverage from the midterm elections in the United States and our special report tonight will cover the effects of the rising cost of living on Australia’s most vulnerable communities, but first to…
CICERO: (Snores loudly) This is impeccably boring.
FOUCAULT: Agreed. Everything is too neutral.
ORWELL: Hmmmm, that must be terrible mustn’t it Michel?
CICERO: (Looks disapprovingly at ORWELL) To the next one.
CICERO raises the remote and presses the button. A different news intro visual with music plays on the screen. This pre-recorded segment of NEWS ANCHOR 2 plays.
NEWS ANCHOR 2: (Spoken in a highly dramatic tone) Tonight. Does Prime Minister Ardern have to bite her tongue when nearly upsetting the regime in Beijing? We take you inside the most important story we have ever run. We thought they were our best friends, but it seems as if they have ditched us to make a quick Chinese buck! It is a
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deal with the devil. Could it be that New Zealand is becoming New Xi-land? Tune in at 8pm tonight to find out.
CICERO: That is more like it! Reeling the audience in, I am sure.
ORWELL: It could be very misleading with the lack of evidence in that snippet.
FOUCAULT: Again George. It is not about that it is about the audience, the money. Context my friend, context. Language is being used incredibly well again there to achieve the watch time they want to gain.
CICERO: (Holding a hand up to ORWELL) We are not going back there. Here is the last one.
CICERO raises the remote and presses the button. A different news intro visual with music plays on the screen. This pre-recorded segment of NEWS ANCHOR 3 plays
NEWS ANCHOR 3: (Spoken in an angry and desperate tone) I’ve argued for some time about the crisis in western political leadership. Why have leaders in the western world given international exposure to the uninformed and disinformed utterances of Greta Thunberg. She’s now 18. She calls herself an environmental activist. She started raving at 15, and that’s the appropriate word, about climate change mitigation. She’s never been challenged on the rubbish she utters but the publicity she gets leads young people to believe her. Now paroxysms of fear and hopelessness overwhelm these young people because no political leader stands their ground to dismantle this emotional, disinformed rubbish.
CICERO raises the remote and presses the button. The screen turns off and only Stage 2 is lit
CICERO: Another great example of performative rhetoric. If you want to get something, you’ve got to know your responder, and you’ve got to appeal to them. That’s what he’s doing right there.
FOUCAULT: Very similar to the previous one in understanding that, before you speak Orwell, this is not targeting you and it works for those it is targeting.
ORWELL: I must say, on the record, that I detest this ambivalent attitude to damaging rhetoric. It is unproductive and fails to portray what the orator thinks rather its just to propel what they believe will earn the most money. He is literally abusing a child. A child!
FOUCAULT: Yes. We’ve all got that by now.
SAMUEL KEARNEY
As ORWELL and FOUCAULT fight, the orb begins flashing faster and faster.
ORWELL: Why are you here?
FOUCAULT: Excuse me?
ORWELL: You seem to have no regard for our purpose here. In fact, you actively support the misuse of language we are attempting to prevent.
FOUCAULT: You pompous, elitist snob.
ORWELL and FOUCAULT stand up.
ORWELL: How dare you!
They walk stage right of the table and step closer and closer to each other. They stare into each other’s eyes for an awkwardly long period of time and begin poking each other repetitively. CICERO notices the orb’s flashing.
CICERO: Gentlemen! The Orb!
FOUCAULT and ORWELL flick their heads towards the orb simultaneously and panic ensues. All three men pace frantically around the small stage as they speak.
ORWELL: Not again. Not again. Not again.
FOUCAULT: This will look devastating on my record.
CICERO: Oh Minerva. It is my consulship all over again.
FOUCAULT: All right. What do we do?
ORWELL: The recommendations!
CICERO: They are Australia’s last hope.
All three men sprint to the desk. They are talking aloud while frantically writing. Chaos ensues while they write, paper flying everywhere, constant movement and desperate body language.
ORWELL: Simplicity.
FOUCAULT: Power.
CICERO: Performance.
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ORWELL: Clarity of meaning.
FOUCAULT: Clarity of purpose.
CICERO: Inspire them.
ORWELL: Eliminate prepositional podge.
CICERO: Are we ready to propagate?
ORWELL and FOUCAULT: Yes.
CICERO: Let’s go then!
The men run around the table attempting to gather up the papers. They fail dismally as they get in each other’s way, slip over papers on the floor, break pens, throw glasses, spill water, and create more mess. As the men attempt to gather their writings, the lights slowly fade down on Stage 2, leaving only the red glow of the sphere to illuminate the continuing chaos. A purple LED wash comes up slowly on Stage 1. At the same time, ‘Starman (CODA version)’ fades up. An image of Marrickville station at night appears on the screen. A South Sydney Rabbitohs scarf is hanging off a coat stand. A man sleeps in a bed centre stage. A Labor Party campaign ‘Better Future’ placard leans on the bed. A dog bowl with the name Toto painted on it lies in front of the bed. LUCKY’s platform lowers onto the stage. While descending, she puts down the greatcoat, stool, picnic basket and large bag and then takes off the rope around her neck. She walks onto the main stage, in front of the bed and pulls out a piece of paper and a pen and writes. As LUCKY writes, the sphere’s red flashing slows and then stops. LUCKY finishes writing after thirty seconds. She folds the paper and places it on the end of the bed. The music fades up as LUCKY walks back onto the platform, and it rises until it is not visible to the audience as the purple wash fades out. As she rises, the music reaches a crescendo and fades out after LUCKY is no longer visible.
BLACKOUT
SAMUEL KEARNEY
VISUAL ARTS
Oliver McLachlan
Expressions of life (ARTEXPRESS 2022)
REFLECTION STATEMENT
In my series of portraits, I aimed to capture a range of emotional states: confident, lost, hopeful, stunned…
Our faces speak without words – they reveal us. They show our humanity. In an instant we can detect truth, lies, joy… quiet despair.
I study faces. I seek complexity. I then use colour to further disclose these deep emotions states.
Our faces speak without words – they reveal us.
VISUAL ARTS COLOURED PENCIL ON PAPER
OLIVER MCLACHLAN EXPRESSIONS OF LIFE
VISUAL ARTS COLOURED PENCIL ON PAPER
OLIVER MCLACHLAN EXPRESSIONS OF LIFE
VISUAL ARTS COLOURED PENCIL ON PAPER
OLIVER MCLACHLAN EXPRESSIONS OF LIFE
ENGLISH
Miles McKeon
Drilled
REFLECTION STATEMENT
In November 2021, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service, Sir Stephen House, stated: “ drill [is] linked directly to gang violence.”1 Later in the same speech he said: “It’s a form of music I know nothing about. I’m far too old to understand.”2
I felt like a hopeless bystander watching Tory politicians label drill as a cause of violence3 I sought to demystify drill and understand its origins and influences in accordance with literary frameworks. This inspired me to create a conversational-investigative hybrid podcast on Drill music (“drill”), the subgenre of rap that emerged in Chicago, USA in 2011 and became popularised in Brixton, UK. The music is a reflection of the typical gang-environments of the musicians and thus it is violent, nihilistic and frequently censored on music forums such as Youtube4 . My interest was piqued by the 2021 explosion of media that labelled drill5 as a cause of violence; I wanted to subvert the surface level investigation of mainstream media and, with my responders, delve deeper into the contextual origins of the music.
Through a geocritical lens, my podcast “Drilled ”6 asserts that drill is a form of marginalised poetry that should be validated for its ability to provide an authentic expression for ethnically and economically marginalised communities. I contend
1 House, Sir Stephen, 10 November 2021, [London Assembly Speech], My London, https://www.mylondon.news/news/met-police-chief-warns-drill-22192415
2 Ibid
3 Sanusi, V. (2018). Retrieved 18 August 2022, from https://inews.co.uk/news/big-narstie-grime-drill-music-scapegoat-crime-politicians-194058.
4 Pritchard, W. (2022). YouTube is Working With Met Police to Take Down Rap and Drill Videos. Vice.com. Retrieved 18 August 2022, from https://www. vice.com/en/article/bvnp8v/met-police-youtube-drill-music-removal.
5 James, M. (2021). What Is Drill Music? With 7 Top Examples & History - Music Industry How To. Music Industry How To.Retrieved 18 August 2022, from https://www.musicindustryhowto.com/what-is-drill-music/.
6 “Drilled ” script
MILES MCKEON DRILLED
that drill's hedonistic nature is comparable with Shakespeare’s plays such as Titus Andronicus. “Drilled ”7 originates from a personal yearning to understand the subjugation of marginalised communities, and subsequent sociological behaviours. My podcast is intended to be linked in a contemporary literary magazine such as Granta to be enjoyed by an eclectic audience of counter-cultural individuals who are academically interested in new ways of thinking.
7 Ibid
PODCAST SCRIPT
Home - Knucks1
Let play for 7.45 seconds before speaking
Mysterious and exciting tone
Changes in pace
Home - Knucks2 continues at a lower volume
Miles: In an urgent special edition episode of “Minorities in Publishing”, we bring you podcast #122 in which we seek to explore the marginalised expression of drill as poetry. We do this specifically in an effort to present an authentic evaluation of drill, in contrast to the recent heightened media scrutiny.
We will use the voices of UK drill artist Dave and Chicago drill artist Chief Keef to personally interpret the marginalised context that Drills cathartic expression represents, alongside our professional researchers, who will assist us in making links to geocritical theory, philosophy and Shakespeare.
1 Ashley “Knucks” Nwachukwu (2019). Home [on NRG 105]
2 Ibid
Removal of Home - Knucks High tension sound begins
Miles: I’m your host Ben Baker, and, I’d- wait, sorry, can you, can you hear that?
Static -
Series of news soundbites that begin long, and as they cycle to different sounds, become shorter, like a buildup. Play with the sound of increasing volume in the background as the clips get shorter and then an impact effect at the end. Clips are from various news websites.3 4
-
LD - Most wanted5 Inquisitive tone
Miles: A cause of violence, or a reflection of it? An art, or a crime?
Academic evaluation of Drill’s influence became increasingly prevalent when the number of knife offences in London increased by … 90% between 2011 to 2021. 6
Links were alleged between Drill's hedonistic lyrics, and the increasing quantity of the events depicted in these songs.
To fulfil our purpose one must validate the marginalised expression of drill as poetry, and, in doing so, understand the need to recognise marginalised voices.
I’d like to introduce Literary critic Brent Wood to discuss Drills links to literature.
Academic sounding voice Intellectual Refined tone
Dave - Clash (ft. Stormzy)7
“Understanding Rap as Rhetorical Folk-Poetry8”
“Brent Wood”: Drill, as a subgenre of rap, is undeniably a form of literature.
My journal article “Understanding Rap as Rhetorical Folk-Poetry”9 therefore argues for drill as a “contemporary form of the ages-old tradition of folk-poetry”10 .
I draw upon the most accepted characteristics of poetry, as an indisputable form of literature, and prove rap to hold the same characteristics integral; “it derives its rhetorical power from a unique use of rhythm and rhyme.”11
Unless we seek to disprove poetry as literature, drill must also be inscribed with the same title.
-Dave - Clash (ft. Stormzy)12 continues, and then eventually Dave - Black13 begins playing
Miles: It is now widely established that rap, and thus drill as an extension of rap, is literature.
Regardless, why should we - why should you care? In what specifically is its value?
I’d like to introduce Dave, a Nigerian-born, Brixton artist, racially segregated from his parents at birth, and confronted with the harshest realities of life in low-SES, Black areas of London.
3 Is UK drill music really behind London's wave of violent crime?. the Guardian. (2022). Retrieved 19 August 2022, from https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/apr/09/uk-drill-music-london-wave-violent-crime.
4 Youtube.com. (2018). Retrieved 19 August 2022, from https: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Po7drcMw9J0.
5 LD. (2019) Most wanted [on Discography]
6 Crime in England and Wales - Office for National Statistics. Ons.gov.uk. (2022). Retrieved 19 August 2022, from https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/ crimeandjustice/bulletins/crimeinenglandandwales/yearendingmarch20 22.
8 Wood, B. (1999). Understanding Rap as Rhetorical Folk-Poetry. Mosaic: An Interdisciplinary Critical Journal, 32(4), 129–146. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44029853
9 Wood, B. (1999). Understanding Rap as Rhetorical Folk-Poetry. Mosaic: An Interdisciplinary Critical Journal, 32(4), 129–146. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44029853
10 Ibid
11 Ibid
12 Ibid
13 Fraser. T. Smith (2019). Black [on Psychodrama]
MILES MCKEON DRILLED
Play in background during introduction with increasing volume until the bold, which is exhibited. (the bold is the only section that is really heard)
“Black” by “Dave”: Black is people namin' your countries on what they trade most Coast of Ivory, Gold Coast, and the Grain Coast. But most importantly to show how deep all this pain goes West Africa, Benin, they called it slave coast Black is so confusin', 'cause the culture? They're in love with it “They take our features when they want and have their fun with it Never seem to help with all the things we know would come with it Loud in our laughter, silent in our sufferin”14
-
Play Wood saying “rhythm and rhyme15”
Play “Loud in our laughter, silent in our sufferin'16”
Hugely captivating voice with variation in tone to maintain listener attention
Miles: The authenticity of drill as a medium in expressing his felt pain is essential to Dave’s catharsis he finds in his art.
Dave not only represents his genuine context of discrimination as an African man, but reflects his communities context in his choice of form.
Thus, it is through drill, and ONLY through drill, that Dave can authentically express himself; he is marginalised socio-economically and racially in his society, and he expresses this through a form of literature that is authentic to him and his culture.
Dave is able to benefit other marginalised people, through reflecting his community's oppressed, and often censored, life experience in a way that they wouldn't typically see in mainstream literature.
Finally, the excerpts continual use of Woods “Rhythm and rhyme”17, and its purposeful use of techniques, such as antithesis in “Loud in our laughter, silent in our sufferin'”18
14 Ibid
15 Wood, B. (1999). Understanding Rap as Rhetorical Folk-Poetry. Mosaic: An Interdisciplinary Critical Journal, 32(4), 129–146. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44029853
16 19 Fraser. T. Smith (2019). Black [on Psychodrama]
17 Wood, B. (1999). Understanding Rap as Rhetorical Folk-Poetry. Mosaic: An Interdisciplinary Critical Journal, 32(4), 129–146. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44029853
18 Fraser. T. Smith (2019). Black [on Psychodrama]
MILES MCKEON DRILLED
epitomises the hidden, literary nature of the prose that is identical to that of more widely-accepted western poetry.
I’d like to introduce Bertrand Westphal, the French scholar and essayist who originated Spatial theory or geocriticism 19
Academic sounding voice, intellectual and refined tone to give [an] intelligent vibe LD - Most wanted20
Bertrand Westphal: I founded geocriticism with the theoretical underpinning that relations between the life and times of the author, the history of the text, the story and also the spatial data all are deciding factors in the text's contents or nature.
Geocriticism also assumes a literary referentiality between world and text, or, in other words, between the referent and its representation. A consequence of geospatial analysis is the way in which it forces consideration of one's context, and its influence on their art. 21
Homemade tick sound upon “validate” Homemade knife sound upon “violent” Homemade censor sound upon “Censored”
Miles: Accepting this, one is able to interpret Dave’s literature, and drill in general, through not only a perspective that commentates, but through proven literary theory.
We can validate this art, and advocate for its importance in recognising marginalised voices.
So then when one is to learn that statistically “racial inequality has increased in twothirds of London boroughs”22 since 2012, it is of no coincidence that UK drill, a genre that reflects this inequality, became popularised in 2012. Drill, as a black art form,
19 Geocriticism and Spatial Literary Studies. SpringerLink. (2020). Retrieved 19 August 2022, from https://link.springer.com/series/15002#:~:text=Whether%20focused%20 on%20literary%20geography,zones%20where%20fictio n%20meets%20reality.
20 LD. (2019) Most wanted [on Discography]
21 Westphal, Bertrand. Le Monde plausible, Espace, Lieu, Carte, Paris, Éditions de Minuit, 2011.
22 Ethnic Inequalities in London – Capital For All | Trust for London. Trust for London. (2022). Retrieved 19 August 2022, from https://www.trustforlondon.org.uk/publications/ethnic-inequalities-london-capital-all/.
began to express itself, through reflecting their impoverished environment. It is too of no shock, according to geocriticism, that the nature of drill music is unique in its form, brutally hedonistic, often violent, and censored. Westphal teaches us that this is a reflection of the stats depicted, as geocriticism teaches us that art is simply a reflection of one's environment. -
Same tone as previously - approvingly spoken
Bertrand Westphal: Precisely
*Static noises*
All quotes and song lyrics here will be directly from this video23 . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwASWJ PIB1c Again, variating tone and pace to maintain interest.
Miles: In order to discuss the intrinsic merit of a literary work, one must apply it to the outside world, and the outcome of its application to sectors of life we deem important, such as education.
Meet “Drillosophy”, a show in which “ancient greek philosophy” is applied to “drill music”.
“Ciaran Thapar” “a youth worker and a writer” describes drill music as “a way of expressing … realities”. The show, which is used in youth work for disadvantaged London communities, initially presents drill lyrics that resonate with their disadvantaged audience, such as “broken hearts, broken phones, diligent yutes from broken homes”. Then, the philosophical content is introduced. “The idea of the cave as a story to explain the practical use of philosophy in our lives [this then speeds up to the point where it can’t be heard]”. Finally, this is applied with input from the artists themselves, linking drill music to the motifs of things such as Aristotle’s concept of catharsis or philosopher Jeremy Bentham's frameworks.
23 23 Thapar, C. (2020). Drillosophy. Youtube.com. Retrieved 19 August 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwASWJPIB1c.
MILES MCKEON DRILLED
“broken hearts, broken phones, diligent yutes from broken homes”. “Again, it's this idea of perception but also the way that perception is influenced by your environment. If all you're seeing is dysfunctionality and things that are broken in your family in your relationships, even your phones broken, this is gonna set a certain seat of expectations in your life and the way you perceive things”.
Through the truthful embrace of drill, as something that isn’t perfect, our society is able to engage and educate our youth, whilst simultaneously breaking down the stereotypes surrounding the genre through the gifting of important contextual information that true analysis provides.
*Static noises*
Continued music from earlier
Miles: Meet Chief Keef, known as the pioneer of the genre we know as drill music; the genre that originated in Chicago, Keefs hometown.
Okay - Chief Keef (0:30): Trynna find out where my head at Show no love, love'll get you killed, yeah I said that 24
Okay - Chief Keef25
Miles: The pattern of oppression, of expression as a tool is recurrently identifiable, across different artists and countries in drill; a trend, perhaps.
Keef identifies the imprisoning nature of his low SES background in gang-dominated Chicago, and the ways in which such hedonism strips individuals of their ability to express emotion, with the imperative of murder.
The phrase is snuck with literary technique, with tools such as anadiplosis, rhyming couplets, rhyme, metaphor and hyperbole.
24 Chief Keef (2016). Okay [on Okay]
25 Ibid
Furthermore, Bertrand's earlier renditions of his geocritical theory are ever-present not only in Dave's works, but Keef's as well, with context clearly playing a significant role in Keef’s construction and subject matter.
Miles: I now welcome to the podcast Kevin Coval, artistic director of “Young Chicago Authors”, founder of the “Louder than a Bomb” poetry competition, teacher and Emmy-nominated writer.
-
Recording from https://news.wttw.c om/2012/10/25/kevin-coval-chief-keef?q t-the_most_=026
Kevin Coval: Thanks so much for having me.
Miles: Tell me just a little bit about your take on Keef, and his music.
-
Recording from https://news.wttw.c om/2012/10/25/kevin-coval-chief-keef?q t-the_most_=027
Kevin Coval: “He's a young man from the city of Chicago. So, in some ways he comes from a neighbourhood that’s overlooked, and the only thing that's heard about his neighbourhood is overlooked. Drill music, it's kind of this era's rap-reportage. I mean their talking about things in the community that go on a regular basis, some things that are really difficult for the whole of America to imagine. He is speaking to and for a community that is often never heard from.”
Miles: Now Kevin, you're the author of a new poem book, “More **** Chief Keef doesn't like”. As a teacher yourself, tell me about the inspiration.
Recording from https://news.wttw.c om/2012/10/25/kevin-coval-chief-keef?q t-the_most_=028
Kevin Coval: “My fascination with Chief Keef, he looks like and sounds like so many young people I see in the classroom.”
26 Coval, K. (2022). Kevin Coval on Chief Keef. WTTW News. Retrieved 19 August 2022, from https://news.wttw.com/2012/10/25/kevin-coval-chief-keef?qt-the_most_=0.
27 Ibid
28 Ibid
Miles: We’re gonna hear Kevin read an excerpt from his book, a book that writes Keef's story in poetry.
Have messaged and emailed Kevin, but may need someone to read this. Cold tone, with perhaps some hi hats in the background to hold the rhythm.
Kevin Coval (Hipster blogs wave their true colours - More sh*t Chief Keef don’t like): a side joke and haha, Keef is a deposit for their class and race hysteria their middle brow(n) snobbery their rapgenius mockery their (neo)liberal art degrees their fake downness in sheep clothes if sheep wore their little brothers’ pajamas. 29
Miles: If a piece of literature prompts the creation of a hypertext - essentially the creation of a literary conversation - can we deny its value? Can we deny it as literature with adequate meaning? -
Same sophisticated tone with the same accent if chosen to have an accent
Bertrand Westphal: Sorry, I simply have to interrupt. I was happy to explain my theories before, and I concede they apply to this ‘Drill’ music, but there's a big flaw in all of this.
Wary, shocked, a little offended
Miles: Go on
Same sophisticated tone with the same accent if chosen to have an accent
Bertrand Westphal: This music is a portrayal of geocriticism, its subject matter and form itself stem from the very particular environments the artists are from, but often these are awful environments, and subsequently this music is often quite violent and hedonistic. How can you promote this ‘literatures’ value, if it's deprived of any altruism whatsoever? Sure it's a reflection, but we wouldn’t want the masses hearing it, would we now?
29 Coval, K. More sh!t Chief Keef don't like. (2018)
MILES MCKEON DRILLED
Pause, as if unsure of what to do, then commence.
Miles: To answer your question Bertrand, I would like to introduce psychology professor Ehud Bodner to read from her research article “Problem music and its different shades over its fans”30
Ehud Bodner: Thank you. We researched the relationship between delinquency, mood regulation, major psychological traits, and problem music, which is music typically deemed hedonistic. On the contrary to your suggestion Bertrand, our extensive study showed that this ‘problem music’ “assists fans to regulate their mood and alleviate tension31”.
Miles: Does this answer your question Bertrand? Alongside this evidence, we now understand the detriment caused by a lack of proportional representation in mainstream media; we need to show these youth in similar situations to Dave, to Keef, that they are heard; their issue is represented. By silencing their expression, we don’t conclude the issues behind the music, we only conclude the only escape from these peoples reality. By censoring something, we only harm its chance of growth.
Same series of soundbites32 that begin long, and as they cycle to different sounds, become shorter, like a buildup.
Play with sound of increasing volume in the background as the clips get shorter and then silence This 15 second segment serves to answer the question of what drill is whilst also showing the controversy surrounding it.
Mic ruffle before Jack speaks.
30 Bodner, E., & Bensimon, M. (2015). Problem music and its different shades over its fans. Psychology of Music, 43(5), 641–660. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735614532000
31 Ibid
32 32 Youtube.com. (2018). Retrieved 19 August 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Po7drcMw9J0.
MILES MCKEON DRILLED
Miles: I’d like to introduce our final guest for this podcast. Jack Edward Reese is an English professor and former Chancellor of the University of Tennessee, here to present his paper Violence, Revenge, and Meta-Allusion in "Titus Andronicus"33
-
Slow talking
Calm and calculated
Jack Edward Reese: Thanks for having me.
Miles: Thanks for joining, I’m sure our viewers are eager to hear what you have to say on our topic this week.
Slow talking
Calm and calculated
Jack Edward Reese: I wanted to come on today to share a few observations I found regarding Shakespeare’s play “Titus Andronicus”, as I think a few things may shock you.
Miles: Shock me? What do you... What do you mean Jack?
Slow talking Calm and calculated
Jack Edward Reese: Well you might be surprised to learn that this explicit discussion of violence, of hedonistic literature is not as new as you think, and perhaps at one point not as controversial.
“Titus Andronicus stands out as especially histrionic in its virtuosic, almost gleeful depiction of bodily destruction34” with the play including 14 killings, six severed members, one rape, one live burial, one case of insanity and one case of cannibalism.
33 Philology, 112(4), 698–717. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43921866 Weber, W. W. (2015). “Worse Than Philomel”: Violence, Revenge, and Meta-Allusion in “Titus Andronicus.” Studies in 34 Ibid
And while it wasn’t “until the middle of the twentieth century did audiences and commentators overcome a distaste for Titus's graphic violence35”, it’s immediately noticeable to myself listening to you on this podcast, that while Titus was not the most favourable of Shakespeare’s plays, it didn’t receive nearly the same treatment Drill endures.
Miles: So you’re saying the violence wasn’t looked upon kindly, but it also wasn’t censored and demonised the way drill music is today?
Slow talking Calm and calculated Police sirens when police mentioned (quietly)
Jack Edward Reese: Precisely. We know that police in the UK remove drill music videos almost daily, citing concerns of violent rhetoric, and in doing so proving our thesis regarding the marginalisation of expression discussed on this special edition podcast to be correct.
So what other factors may influence the marginalisation of these low-SES, African and Caribbean artists?
Miles: Unfortunately, it may be just that Jack; low-SES, racially discriminated; it's a story we’ve heard before. If we go back to the stats we introduced before regarding the reasons these minorities are in low-SES environments in the first place, we can see it's the same inequitable treatment that demonises, censors and marginalises this literature.
Jack Edward Reese: I’d like to propose one more thing if we have time.
Miles: Go ahead.
Jack Edward Reese: I think I see more similarity between Titus and drill music, apart from blatant exhibition of violence and hedonism.
From what I’ve heard so far, drill is, how do I say, a cry for help, using its perversion of violence to inescapably present an alternate reality to an unknowing audience.
I found a similar motif in Shakespeare's work. He initiates this “indirect course of extenuating the violence for as long as possible … [and] achieves a similar overall effect … [one] that [says] this logic of violence is truly inescapable36 ”.
So now we understand that Shakespeare and drill music not only hold commonality in their gore, but in their overarching purpose in the use of this gore itself.
Miles: Thanks for your help Jack, the audience loves hearing what you have to say.
Static noises
Miles: I would like to thank you all for joining me for this special edition episode of “Minorities in Publishing”.
I would like to thank Chief Keef and Dave for their contributions to this podcast, alongside the input of our academic panel; namely Brent Wood, Bertrand Westphal, Kevin Coval, Ehud Bodner and Jack Edward Reese.
We must see those at a disadvantage through a lens that accounts for context, or we may never see at all.
35 Ibid
36 Ibid
MILES MCKEON DRILLED
REFERENCE LIST
• “Drilled” script
• Baker, Jennifer Artist. (2014-2022). Multiple programs. Minorities in Publishing. https:// open.spotify.com/show/5Z5llTlrVVXnvMSpEp7iXl?si=ad188545ead94391.
• Barber, A. (2022). 10 years ago, Chief Keef launched drill music into the mainstream. MIC. Retrieved 18 August 2022, from https://www.mic.com/ culture/chief-keef-interscope-deal-anniversary-chicago#:~:text= Menu-,10%20 years%20ago%2C%20Chief%20Keef%20launched%20drill%20music%20 into%20the,rap%20blossomed%20from%20his%20brilliance
• BRITs 2020 winners. BRIT Awards. (2022). Retrieved 18 August 2022, from https://www.brits.co.uk/news/brits-2020-winners.
• Davies, S. (2021). The controversial music that is the sound of global youth. Bbc.com.
• Retrieved 18 August 2022, from https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20210607the-controversial-music-that-is-the-sou nd-of-global-youth.
• Ekpoudom, A. (2020). Drillosophy: why UK rappers are teaching Plato in lockdown. The Guardian. Retrieved 18 August 2022, from https://www.theguardian.com/ music/2020/may/05/drillosophy-why-uk-rappers-are-tea ching-plato-in-lockdown.
• English Extension 2 ETA podcast webinar. Accessed 2022. (No longer accessible).
• Ferrer, I., Lorenzetti, L. and Shaw, J., 2019. Podcasting for social justice: exploring the potential of experiential and transformative teaching and learning through social work podcasts. Social Work Education, 39(7), pp.849-865.
• Ferrer, I., Lorenzetti, L., & Shaw, J. (2020). Podcasting for social justice: Exploring the potential of experiential and transformative teaching and learning through social work podcasts. Social Work Education, 39(7), 849-865.
• Granta Magazine | Read the Best Literary Fiction, Poetry and Journalism. Granta. (2022).
• Retrieved 18 August 2022, from https://granta.com/.
• House, Sir Stephen, 10 November 2021, [London Assembly Speech], My London, https://www.mylondon.news/news/met-police-chief-warns-drill-22192415
• Irwin, S. (2018). Lay Perceptions of Inequality and Social Structure. Sociology, 52(2), 211–227. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26558700
• James, M. (2021). What Is Drill Music? With 7 Top Examples & History - Music Industry How To. Music Industry How To. Retrieved 18 August 2022, from https://www.musicindustryhowto.com/what-is-drill-music/.
• Kirschbaum, L. (1949). Shakespeare’s Stage Blood and Its Critical Significance. PMLA, 64(3), 517–529. https://doi.org/10.2307/459751
• M. d. C. G. Vásquez and C. U. C. Castro, "Analyzing narrative and radio language of the Serial Podcast," 2021 16th Iberian Conference on Information Systems and Technologies (CISTI), 2021, pp. 1-6, doi: 10.23919/CISTI52073.2021.9476357.
• M. d. C. G. Vásquez and C. U. C. Castro, "Analyzing narrative and radio language of the Serial Podcast," 2021 16th Iberian Conference on Information Systems and
Technologies (CISTI), 2021, pp. 1-6, doi: 10.23919/CISTI52073.2021.9476357.
• Pritchard, W. (2022). YouTube is Working With Met Police to Take Down Rap and Drill Videos. Vice.com. Retrieved 18 August 2022, from https://www.vice. com/en/article/bvnp8v/met-police-youtube-drill-music-removal.
My short film Forgotten represents my extensive research on Alfred Hitchcock, the master of suspense. Films like North by Northwest, Pyscho, and Rebecca all had a profound influence on developing my understanding of how to utilise specific techniques to build suspense through the unpredictable and volatile nature of the human experience.
I was drawn to the history and stories from our filming location, the UNESCO World Heritage site, Cockatoo Island. It was originally a penal establishment in the early 1800s and then later became an industrial school and reformatory for girls. These institutions were set up to deal with orphans and juvenile delinquents but were sadly mismanaged. Forgotten draws from this rich history and touches on these delicate themes.
I utilised a variety of my favourite Hitchcock signature shots including close-ups, tracking shots and dolly zooms. During the post-production phase I incorporated numerous cross fades to introduce multiple perspectives, suggested narratives and nuances. These techniques assisted to maintain a nostalgic and dream-like flow to the film. I was particularly drawn to Hitchcock’s unique way of captivating the audience, playing with their minds to create an experience as though they were in the film, experiencing every moment as the character did. In this way, voiceover, imagery, and location combine to leave the audience questioning the relationship between characters. The last piece in the puzzle was selecting the soundtrack ‘If I Didn’t Care’ by the Ink Spots. This backing track, along with a series of sound effects, assists to drive the emotional build in the edit.
The viewer slides irrefutably into an unnerving and ethereal series of visual motifs that reference the past and the journey to investigate associations with this historic site. A climactic build up to a BANG coupled with a deranged voiceover reveals a possible outcome of the Forgotten mystery.
THOMAS KNOX FORGOTTEN
PHOTOGRAPHY, VIDEO & DIGITAL MEDIA
THE KIRCHER COLLECTION
HSC BODIES OF WORK FROM THE CLASS OF 2022
PHOTOGRAPHY, VIDEO & DIGITAL MEDIA
THOMAS KNOX FORGOTTEN
It is almost like you can imagine the person’s whole life through their eyes, and that is something I really wanted to capture.
VISUAL ARTS
Harrison Hartnell
Labyrinth – passageways through time
REFLECTION STATEMENT
My work is deeply philosophical in its inquiry. What do we do when we get old? How do we look back on a lifetime of decisions, both good and bad? Do we hold regrets? How do we move forward? In this dark landscape, this labyrinth, there are no clear answers. Ultimately it is our intricate pathways that shape and define us as a person. Perhaps it is our faith, love and hope that offer us a way to the light.
The conceptual theory behind my work acts as a microcosm of our own society and the importance of the older generations. Within my work, I explore the idea of whether people can be young in mind and persona but old in the frailty of human existence at the same time. It explores the human experience and each of our own experiences and how that is projected onto our faces. I chose to depict five figures that symmetrically represent a narrative, as the eye tracks left to right. In doing so, I chose to compositionally bear a similarity to Leonardo Da Vinci’s ‘The Last Supper’, depicting a range of emotions divided into three sections, the left, middle, and right hand side.
Each work depicts a different and intricate persona, ranging from elated and kind faces (left) to a contemplative character in the centre, mirroring Rodin’s ‘The Thinker’ and finally to a harsh and bleak facial expression on the right. Each emotion is representative of the lives that these individuals have lived, exploring the intricacies of their life experiences, through the graphite medium to represent their life stories through a single portrait drawing. It is almost like you can imagine the person’s whole life through their eyes, and that is something I really wanted to capture.
HARRISON HARTNELL LABYRINTH - PASSAGEWAYS THROUGH TIME
VISUAL ARTS GRAPHITE AND CHARCOAL ON PAPER
HARRISON HARTNELL
LABYRINTH - PASSAGEWAYS THROUGH TIME
VISUAL ARTS GRAPHITE AND CHARCOAL ON PAPER
HARRISON HARTNELL
LABYRINTH - PASSAGEWAYS THROUGH TIME
Max Ghiazza
Performance Bass Guitar (ENCORE nomination 2022)
"Billie’s Bounce" by Charlie Parker (Core Performance)
"Dean Town" by Vulfpeck (Elective 1)
"Sir Duke" by Stevie Wonder (Elective 2)
"Armando’s Rhumba" by Chick Corea (Elective 3)
REFLECTION STATEMENT
My major works for music include four pieces performed on the bass guitar, with each representing the different stylistic techniques and expressions of the instrument within music. This stylistic range is seen through the genres of Funk, Blues, Latin Jazz, and R&B/Soul. My inspiration was to provide a celebration of the bass guitar through personalisation of the pieces to fit my style and highlight the range of the bass, in addition to allowing for creativity and originality through improvisation.
The process of completing my major work began with memorising each piece because I felt it would create a better connection between myself and the audience. Mr Di Leo helped me select the pieces and explore and develop my improvisational skills, in addition to breaking down each instrument and section in each song to allow me to be able to play with syncopation as well as to manipulate the rhythms to help find my interpretation of each piece. He made me aware of the risks of different pieces, specifically ‘Dean Town’ by Vulfpeck and its repetitive nature, which allowed both of us to not only explore that specific piece but all my major works, to allow more personalisation within the melodic and harmonic lines and repetition, creating an individualised piece that represents my specific style of playing and highlighting the multifunctional nature of the bass.
I found it difficult to adapt the four pieces to my specific style because I felt that they were never as good as the original, but over time I was able to find my interpretation balancing the original and my ideas creating something that I feel encapsulates me and my style.
MAX GHIAZZA
Watch the Max's performances here
MUSIC 1 PERFORMANCE
BASS GUITAR
MAX GHIAZZA
TECHNOLOGICAL & APPLIED STUDIES
Matthew Butler
Coffee Table
REFLECTION STATEMENT
For my 2022 HSC Industrial Technology Timber major work I designed and constructed a hand-crafted unique coffee table using a range of different processes and skills which I refined over my schooling journey. I set out with two main motivations. First, to construct an aesthetically pleasing, high quality, and functional piece of furniture appropriate for my living room. Second, I wanted to challenge and develop my abilities in design and woodworking over the course of this project.
To achieve these objectives, I researched potential designs, designers, and materials. Intrigued by Marc Newson and Harry Seidler’s use of seamless curvature in rigid media, I was inspired to attempt the same within my work. Taking this concept, I applied real-world constraints like physical environment and colour scheme, arriving at a final design: a circular coffee table, standing upon semi-circular legs.
The greatest challenge of this project was fabricating the curved legs of the pedestal. Bending a thick piece of timber over a tight radius proved much harder than anticipated. It took many design iterations and discussions with classmates and teachers to develop a successful final product, which was finally achieved with patience, a bending jig, and lamination of Tasmanian hardwood and bending ply.
To construct the tabletop, I used a plywood core and a parqueted Tasmanian oak tabletop accented by a walnut detail and thick oak eaves. These eaves were made in segments using the CNC routing machine; quickly cutting out each piece to an exact radius with incredible speed and accuracy.
Overall, this project provided quite a challenge, yet plenty of fun and stress too! I am proud of the final product: a beautiful, tangible piece of craftsmanship, resulting from many hours of labour and learning.
MATTHEW BUTLER COFFEE TABLE
TECHNOLOGICAL & APPLIED STUDIES
TECHNOLOGICAL & APPLIED STUDIES TIMBER WORK
MATTHEW BUTLER COFFEE TABLE
The caves and rock shelters are places where our stories and art were created and nurtured by our ancestors.
VISUAL ARTS
Graham Duckett
Yuludarla Jandaygam
REFLECTION STATEMENT
I’m a proud Gumbaynggirr man.
The tribe I belong to is defined by its connection to the sea. Our People have lived beneath these stars in the night sky for millennia. The caves and rock shelters are places where our stories and art were created and nurtured by our ancestors.
‘Yuludarla’, an Aboriginal spirit, who is strongly connected to the land and connected to Gumbayngirr identity is a leader and the land belongs with him. His heroism and strength are what connects us across the past, present, and future.
CHARCOAL AND WHITE PASTELS
GRAHAM DUCKETT
YULUDARLA JANDAYGAM
Oliver McLachlan
Performance: Piano
"Rustle of Spring" by Christian Sinding (Core Performance)
"When Sunny Gets Blue" by Marvin Fisher (Elective 1)
"Prelude 1" by George Gershwin (Elective 2)
"Moment Musicale No.2 in A flat major Op.94 D.780" by Franz Schubert (Elective 3)
REFLECTION STATEMENT
My major work consists of four piano songs, with a broad mixture of classical, jazz and contemporary styles. The process of choosing and learning a lot of these pieces occurred during lockdown. Since then, I continued to polish my repertoire to HSC level and feel that this is reflected in the final performances.
“Rustle of Spring” is a solo piano piece in a Romantic style, requiring dexterity and evenness in the arpeggiated passages. “Prelude 1” opens with a five-note motif which is developed in true Gershwin style, and “Moment Musicale No.2 in A flat Major Op.94 D780” is the second of six pieces for solo piano by Franz Schubert.
“When Sunny Gets Blue” was a completely new experience for me, as I had rarely played jazz before, particularly with an ensemble. However, this has been one of my favourite songs to play, and I have learnt lots through the process.
Watch Oliver's performances here
MUSIC 1 PERFORMANCE PIANO
OLIVER MCLACHLAN
I chose the Whitlam Dismissal as a case study for two reasons; primarily it reflects the long-term consequences of altered historical narratives…
Sam Kearney Dismissals, Distortions and Deceptions: The Politicisation of History
REFLECTION STATEMENT
History is at the core of the construction of our national identity and my essay condemns the politicisation of that history to achieve a partisan agenda. Indeed, Australia’s national identity is intrinsically complicated, we are still a fledgling nation attempting to define ourselves. It is imperative that our identity can be formed with a collective understanding of our entire past, a necessity that is inhibited by the deliberate manipulation of historical evidence.
My essay uses the 1975 Whitlam Dismissal as a case study through which I explore the consequences of political leaders misusing history from their positions of authority. I chose the Whitlam Dismissal as a case study for two reasons; primarily it reflects the long-term consequences of altered historical narratives but additionally it occupies a unique space in the Australian consciousness as a defining moment. A moment which could have been the birth of the Australian Republic, the birth of a unique and independent nation, but instead became a constitutional crisis that survives in memory as a strange paradox; acknowledged as a moment of unjustified foreign intervention but strangely accepted as necessary. This paradox was created by a deliberate suppression of evidence by government, the judiciary and royalty and hence is a seminal example of the impact of politicised history. To emerge as a mature nation, Australia must embrace the truth of its past – in all its glory and shame.
ESSAY
A nation’s identity is directly shaped by its history. The power history has in shaping this identity invites the politically motivated misrepresentation of primary sources and an inaccurate construction of the narrative; most evident in an evaluation of the 1975 Dismissal of the Whitlam Government. The ‘It’s Time’ campaign successfully elected a Labor government led by Gough Whitlam on the 5th of December 1972. The Whitlam agenda radically reshaped Australia’s national identity from a conflictobsessed narrative to one that calls for the embrace of diversity, for a society which recognised the power of government to make a difference in everyday people’s lives; for Australia to step out of its colonial past and create its own national story.
The political repercussions of attempting to fundamentally alter the established historical pedagogy of Australian society, one defined by wars and racial superiority, were immense. Whitlam was fiercely criticised as a radical leftist pursuing a dangerous transformation. The 1975 Dismissal of the Whitlam government provided his political critics with the opportunity to write his historical narrative; in essence to ignore and exploit the belief that it was an open display of vice-regal powers that many ordinary Australians either had no knowledge of or believed were non-existent. The Labor Party martyred Whitlam, with Hawke, Keating, Rudd, Gillard, and Albanese all using him as a reference point for their campaigns while the Liberal opponents of the Whitlam government and supporters of the monarchy constructed a historical narrative in which the Whitlam administration was viewed as untenable, considering the Senate’s blocking of supply and confidence, and therefore requiring dismissal. The Whitlam Dismissal highlights the dangers of politicising the past and writing a history whose inherent purpose is to serve a political agenda. In effect, the historical narrative surrounding the Whitlam dismissal is best described as a forced collective amnesia in which the Australian people ignored the consistent march towards true independence and surrendered to the necessity of foreign intervention in their sovereign politics despite evidence contradicting its justification.
The decade immediately following the Whitlam Dismissal saw the construction of a historical narrative which, due to both a lack of empirical evidence and an active politicisation of the event, silenced critics of Sir John Kerr. Consequently, a narrative was established that viewed the monarchy’s intervention in Australian governance as a judicious safeguard. Amongst academic circles two key interpretations found purchase, more popular was the belief that the dismissal was grounded in law while a minority sought to critique the use of excessive vice-regal powers. The former found popularity in a vacuum absent of alternate evidence while the latter was disregarded
SAMUEL KEARNEY THE DISMISSAL
because, as Professor of Political Science Graham Maddox writes, “too many elites (those with greater capacity to impact discourse) have been too quick to dismiss the ongoing relevance of the dismissal ”1 . Although Maddox’s writing should be consumed with an understanding of his republicanism his argument lies particularly relevant in his analysis of the work of award-winning journalist Paul Kelly who was the dominant voice in the construction of the dismissal narrative, working in both the Parliamentary Press Gallery and as the Australian’s political correspondent during the 1975 crisis. Kelly’s original interpretation of history, in his 1976 book The Unmaking of Gough 2 , was considerably debilitated by significant amounts of missing evidence pertaining to Kerr’s role. As a result, Kelly argues that the dismissal was a convergence of powerful personalities vying for power in Kerr, Fraser, and Whitlam. It is a history, that Maddox argues, is easily dismissed as irrelevant and its nature as a constitutional crisis downplayed due to orchestrated political manipulation from both Kerr and Buckingham Palace. Kelly reinforced this narrative, framing Kerr as a masterful strategist writing, “ he had used his tactical skills to outmanoeuvre Australia’s Prime Minister ”3 while simultaneously arguing that viceregal intervention was necessary, “ he was always aware that if Whitlam’s political strategy failed then it would become the responsibility of the Governor-General to intervene ”4 . Kelly’s established orthodoxy created in 1976 was the pervading narrative for decades, and silenced republican voices who argued for Whitlam’s reinstatement. These republican voices were dismissed as Labor Party supporters who failed to accept the loss of one of their most popular leaders. Conversely, it validated the voices who maintained that Fraser and Kerr’s actions were constitutionally legitimate and prudent. It must be noted this was only able to occur because evidence linking Kerr to the High Court of Australia and Buckingham Palace was not yet revealed to the Australian public, creating a sanitised national identity in which intervention in domestic politics by the representative of a foreign monarch was seen as a safeguard or as Kelly wrote in 2018, “t he Crown exists not as a constitutional umpire but as a constitutional guardian ”5 The politically motivated concealment of evidence relating to Kerr’s dismissal of Whitlam had a direct impact on the construction of a pseudo-history whereby Australia’s understanding of the most significant event in its constitutional history was manipulated to support political interests.
The ability of successive governments and monarchical institutions to influence the construction of Australia’s dismissal history by withholding and misrepresenting
1 Maddox, G., & Battin, T. (2019). Interpreting the Dismissal Paul Kelly’s influence. AQ: Australian Quarterly, 90 (3), 22–36. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26687174
2 Kelly, P. (1976). The Unmaking of Gough Allen & Unwin.
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.
5 Kelly, P., & Bramston, T. (2018). The Dismissal in the Queen’s Name Penguin/Random House.
evidence suggests that they have attempted to acquire ownership over that history. An acknowledgment of this connection required an analysis of history through a different lens, incorporating multiple disciplines including that of ‘ownership’. History is not personal property and hence cannot be owned by any one individual, evident in the nature of history being as barrister and academic Geoffrey Robertson writes, “the story of the past told as accurately as present information allows ”6; it follows that a national history is the combined stories of a nation and hence the dismissal narrative is the collective property of Australians as guardians of their constitutional democracy not that of the Palace or it’s representatives to use as a tool in the practice of empire-building. Australians should have had free access to the ‘Palace Letters’ as this evidence did not impact upon national security. Their suppression was based on a designation of these letters as “personal correspondence ”7 despite the High Court finding they were in fact “commonwealth records ”8 . This hampering of access to historical sources is significant in two key ways; the unbalanced power it has given to incumbent governments but also the large damage it does to academic research and historiography surrounding the event. These impacts are damaging in themselves, but they are deeply linked, and hence their damage amplified, as historian Margaret Macmillan outlines, “Political and other leaders too often get away with misusing or abusing history for their own ends because the rest of us do not know enough to challenge them”9 . Partisan governments are in a uniquely disadvantaged position to objectively make a judgement on the value of sources to historical research of the 1975 dismissal, because that very research would reveal the impropriety of that government itself and its predecessors while highlighting the dangers of the monarchy’s power over domestic Australian politics.
This is evident upon undertaking historiography through the framework of “total history ”10 which allows an extension of study to archival bodies and their interaction with political systems. In Australia, the principal body responsible for the storage and release of archival material relating to the dismissal is the National Archives of Australia (NAA). An organisation that describes its own purpose as, “to connect Australians with the nation's memory, their identity and history ”11 . A purpose that successive reviews have found that the NAA cannot achieve because they are being systematically undermined by the federal government. An Australian National Audit Office report found that
6 Robertson, G. (2019). Who Owns History?: Elgin’s Loot and the Case for Returning Plundered Treasure Biteback Publishing.
7 Hocking v Director-General of the National Archives of Australia, 2020 8 Ibid.
9 MacMillan, M. (2010). The Uses and Abuses of History (Main ed.). Profile Books.
10 Braudel, F. (1949). The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II, Vol. 1 (First ed.). University of California Press.
11 National Archives of Australia. (2019). Our organisation | naa.gov. au. NAA. https://www.naa.gov.au/about- us/our-organisation
SAMUEL KEARNEY THE DISMISSAL
documents given to the archives were in a “critically poor state ”12 that they needed up to 350 million dollars in investment 13 and that they were wasting resources dealing with legal challenges to document suppression ordered by the federal government where they spent $1,000,000 opposing Professor Hocking's challenge to the suppression of the Palace Letters14 . These findings highlight how the NAA, controlled by the Federal Government, aided the politically motivated misrepresentation of history surrounding the dismissal. The NAA's charter gives it a unique ability to shape the historiography of the dismissal as Michelle Arrow, an expert on the connection between socio-political forces and history, writes, “this gives it enormous power to control – and limit – access to government records. Yet it has not always exercised this power wisely ”15 . Additionally, the Australian Historical Association (AHA) delivered its own assessment of the archives ability to foster historiographical writing, “unless this process is revised immediately, the delay in making available archives will have a serious, detrimental and long-term impact on research undertaken on Australian topics ”16 . As the AHA has concluded a lack of primary source material not only distorts historical narratives but actively inhibits the creation of an accurate history. In the case of Whitlam’s dismissal, a lack of evidence had both these effects as it led to a debate surrounding the validity of solid primary source evidence which had been deliberately hidden, thus allowing a contrary and politicised narrative to become established.
An analysis of the significant shift in the historical narrative after the release of both the ‘Palace Letters and Kerr’s personal diaries demonstrates the impact the withholding of this primary source material had on the accuracy of the dismissal’s historiography. The nature of history as a continual discussion between the present and the past provides a mechanism through which historians can challenge accepted narratives with newly available evidence. The revelations within this archival material, revealed by Professor Hocking after a High Court challenge to the NAA and the Attorney General's Department, altered the historical narrative in three key areas: disproving the premise that Kerr acted alone, revealing Kerr had consulted with the Opposition Leader, Malcolm Fraser and proving Buckingham Palace’s involvement
12 Australian National Audit Office. (2021, February). Management of the National Collections. ANAO. https://www.anao.gov.au/sites/ default/files/Auditor-General_Report_2020-21_29.pdf
13 Ibid.
14 Ibid.
15 Arrow, M. (2021, April 27). Our history up in flames? Why the crisis at the National Archives must be urgently addressed The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/our-historyup-in-flames-why-the-crisis-at- the-national-archives-must-be-urgently-addressed-159804
16 Australian Historical Association. (2019, June 11). National Archives of Australia ‘Functional and Efficiency’ Tune Review Australian Historical Association Submission https://www. theaha.org.au/wp- content/uploads/2021/04/NAA-Tune-Review-AHA-Submission-2019.pdf
in Kerr’s decision making. The most significant actor outside of the monarchy and the political sphere revealed through Kerr’s diaries was the involvement of High Court Justice Anthony Mason and through him Chief Justice Garfield Barwick. Kerr had ongoing discussions with Mason which according to the Governor General ranged from “probabilities, options and timing ”17 to on November 9th, 1975, upon Kerr informing Mason of his decision to dismiss Whitlam, Mason saying, “I am glad of that. I thought that I might this afternoon have to urge that course upon you ”18 Although this altered modern understandings of the days preceding the dismissal, as historian Anne Twomey writes this must be viewed within Mason’s context, one in which unstable governments were far more common, and that reveals as Twomey articulates, “that his actions were consistent with those of his predecessors or his colleagues ”19
More significant is the revelation that Kerr had colluded with the Opposition Leader, Fraser, in orchestrating the dismissal, this is in direct opposition with Kelly’s established narrative surrounding Kerr that he was some form of “constitutional guardian”20 preventing government instability. Hocking made this claim in her book ‘The Dismissal Dossier: Everything You Were Never Meant To Know About November 1975 ’21 which details an archival interview of West Australian Liberal Senator at the time Reg Withers stating Kerr was in contact with Fraser in the final week before the dismissal using their secure private telephone numbers. 22 While an interpretation of any historian’s work must be coupled with an understanding of their ideology, Hocking’s republican stance, these claims are supported by well researched archival evidence highlighting its importance and if true, demonstrate why the monarchy and government institutions went to immense lengths to keep this evidence suppressed. While the historical field can never know what was discussed on these phone calls, if it was the dismissal, it suggests that Fraser initiated a supply block in the Senate with the express purpose of seeking Whitlam’s dismissal.
Additionally, Hocking, and other republican historians most significant claim to support their argument that Kerr did not act alone is their stance that the Palace was
17 Kerr’s Notes on 12th Oct 1975 from Hocking, J. (2012). Gough Whitlam: His Time Updated Edition (Vol. 2). Melbourne University Press.
18 Kerr’s Notes on 9th Nov 1975 from Hocking, J. (2012). Gough Whitlam: His Time Updated Edition (Vol. 2). Melbourne University Press.
19 19 Twomey, A. (2012, August 30). Mason’s role in the 1975 dismissal ‘unprecedented’? Hardly..........The Conversation. https://theconversation. com/masons-role-in-the-1975-dismissal-unprecedented-hardly-9174
20 Kelly, P., & Bramston, T. (2018). The Dismissal in the Queen’s Name Penguin/Random House.
21 Hocking, J. (2015). The Dismissal Dossier: Everything you were never meant to know about November 1975 (Main ed.). Melbourne University Press.
22 Ibid.
SAMUEL KEARNEY THE DISMISSAL
directly involved in orchestrating the dismissal. Paul Kelly’s response upon the release of the ‘Palace Letters ’ was to argue that the letters proved there was a conspiracy to dismiss Whitlam orchestrated by the Governor General, not the Palace. 23 Kelly’s reaction is proven dangerous by Macmillan’s observation that history is abused, and indeed politicised, when people ignore or even supress evidence that may challenge their preferred view24 . Kelly’s argument relies on a letter Kerr sent to the Queen’s Private Secretary Martin Charteris on the 11th of November 1975 in which he wrote, “I decided to take the step I took without informing the Palace in advance because under the Constitution the responsibility is mine ”25 Hocking argues this simply confirms that the final decision itself was Kerr’s but that earlier letters in which Charteris informs Kerr of his belief that the reserve powers exist, writing on the 4th of November “to use them is a heavy responsibility and it is only when there is demonstrably no other course that they should be used ”26 confirms collusion. In Hocking’s view, the significance of this letter is that the reserve powers and their application are not directly outlined in the Australian Constitution and their existence and validity were consistently debated so the Palace informing Kerr that he could use them was a tacit approval of a possible dismissal. The submission to the Federal Court of then Governor General Peter Cosgrove’s Official Secretary Mark Fraser arguing for the letter’s continued secrecy is the greatest indication there is as to the implications of the letters and the extent of the politicisation of their release as he argued their suppression was necessary in order to ensure the monarchy’s constitutional position in Australia. 27 The revelations contained within the Palace Letters ’ and Kerr’s Diaries evoked a reinterpretation of the historical narrative which disproved original historiographical accounts of the 1975 Dismissal. All nations need to have access to their archival evidence to ensure that their national history is not distorted by politicisation, and primary source evidence allows for a more accurate representation of the past.
Historical research, both academic and public, relies upon primary source evidence to support its claims and history makers are hindered in their work by any attempt to politicise or distort history. The active politicisation of the 1975 Whitlam Dismissal
23 Bramston, T. Kelly, P. (2020). The Truth of the Palace Letters: Deceit, Ambush and Dismissal in 1975 Melbourne University Publishing.
24 MacMillan, M. (2010). The Uses and Abuses of History (Main ed.). Profile Books.
25 Sir John Kerr to Martin Charteris on the 11th of Nov 1975 from Kerr, J., Charteris, M., Menzies, R., Whitlam, G., Barwick, G., Fraser, M., & Hasluck, P. (2020). The Governor General’s Periodic Confidential Reports To The Queen - Part 2 National Archives of Australia.
26 Martin Charteris to Sir John Kerr on the 4th of Nov 1975 from Kerr, J., Charteris, M., Menzies, R., Whitlam, G., Barwick, G., Fraser, M., & Hasluck, P. (2020). The Governor General’s Periodic Confidential Reports To The Queen - Part 2 National Archives of Australia.
27 Mark Fraser (2016) from Hocking, J., & Turnbull, M. (2021). The Palace Letters: The Queen, The Governor- General, and the Plot to Dismiss Gough Whitlam Scribe US.
meant historians have been prevented from engaging with the full field of evidence in order to protect the reputation of the monarchy. This deliberate distortion silenced republican voices in favour of a convenient pro-monarchist narrative and created a precedent for a National Archives which actively withheld pertinent documents from the Australian people. As a consequence, it denigrated historical debate around the dismissal to one of partisan insult rather than a constructive, respectful, and sourcebased discussion. National history is intrinsically linked with national identity and creating a society whose identity is an amalgam of its past, triumphing its achievements and reconciling with its mistakes is vital and to do so the practitioners of national history must have access to the sources they need. As Marcus Garvey writes, “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.”28
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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28 Attributed to Marcus Garvey.
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• MacMillan, M. (2010). The Uses and Abuses of History (Main ed.). Profile Books.
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SAMUEL
The creation process saw us working collaboratively and using the conventions of theatre to our advantage to craft scenes for the stage.
DRAMA - GROUP PERFORMANCE
Louis Cagé, James Craig, Oliver Ell, Angus Greiner, Zakariya Skaf, Maximilian
Toohey
Phar Lap (OnSTAGE nomination 2022)
REFLECTION STATEMENT
Phar Lap tells the story of a group of Australian horse trainers and friends as they attempt to navigate their way through the tumultuous horse-racing industry. It deals with the central themes of greed, jealousy, loyalty, and friendship as the audience bears witness to the corruption of the 'Australian Dream' to the intoxicating allure of wealth and stardom.
CAGÉ, JAMES CRAIG, OLIVER ELL, ANGUS GREINER, ZAKARIYA SKAF, MAXIMILIAN TOOHEY
PHAR LAP
In crafting this piece, our group was highly influenced by the true story of Phar Lap, and thus conducted much research into the mysteriously convoluted nature of this Australian icon's life and death. In doing this, we sought to find Australian texts that resonated with this notion and were drawn to Banjo Paterson's 'The Man from Snowy River', using lines from this text to bookmark different scenes and reveal the rise and fall of members of the once close group.
The creation process saw us working collaboratively and using the conventions of theatre to our advantage to craft scenes for the stage, with our teacher Mr Page proving essential in guiding us to create a project of which we can feel truly proud. Over the course of the piece, we changed numerous scenes to ensure every scene bolstered our narrative and captured the audience with a sense of tension, intrigue, and entertainment. We had a lot of fun creating this performance, and we looked to include the audience in that fun whenever we could.
SCRIPT
Scene 1: Horse's Death
Phar Lap begins to trot, first moving slowly, but as the clicking intensifies, he begins to break into a fast gallop. However, it proves to be short-lived, as he soon begins to falter once more, before slowly falling to the floor (Move the chairs).
The scene shifts, and now Phar Lap lies on the ground, his head cradled in Louis' arms. Behind, the five friends stand, sharing in the grief. Tommy begins to cry softly.
Scene 2: Auction
Two chairs are stacked atop each other, and Banger and Zak are seated whilst Toohey, Louis and James stand at different positions. Oli is behind the lectern. The scene is immediately met with loud commotion as the prospective buyers engage in a bidding war.
Oli: And here we go, do I hear 4000 for lot 40?
Banger: 4000!
Oli: 4000, do I hear 4100?
LOUIS
Zak: 4100!
Oli: 4100, it's going once, twice... sold to the gentleman on the left, congratulations!
Zak receives a ticket, shakes Oli's hand and sits back down. As Zak goes to accept his prize, the scene transforms, and Toohey and James take the seats over to the side and the lectern rotates, so there is a clear side angle, and Louis is more viewable to the audience.
Oli: And now, next on the docket we have... (Pause, as he takes a quick glance at the horse) lot 41. It's a… smaller horse, perhaps concealing some hidden potential. We'll start the bidding at 1000. 1000 for the thoroughbred….
Silence
Toohey: 1000? Have to bloody pay me a thousand for that thing.
Laughter from the other bidders
Oli: 500? Do I hear 500?
Skaff: Is it a horse or a bloody greyhound mate?
Laughter from the other bidders
Oli: I'll go to 350... anyone for 350?
Louis raises his hand.
Oli: And… sold!
There is silence from the others as everyone turns to look at him, shortly accompanied by a brief moment of stillness.
Oli: To the man in the back! (Louis begins to walk off )
Banger: I'll see you at the Derby! (Laughter from the other potential bidders)
Zak: More like the abattoir!
Laughter as Louis walks away and around whilst everyone flips chairs to bar scene. Zak moves to the back to grab the tray of beers
JAMES CRAIG, OLIVER ELL, ANGUS GREINER, ZAKARIYA SKAF, MAXIMILIAN TOOHEY PHAR LAP
Scene 3: Bar
Louis enters whilst Oli, Banger, Toohey & James are sitting in an open circle, leaning on the backs of their chairs
James: He sent the flintstones flying, but the pony kept his feet
Oli: And the man from down under never shifted in his seat
Banger: Through the stringybarks and saplings, on the rough and broken ground
Toohey: And he never drew the bridle till he landed safe and sound
Louis: To the breezes, and the rolling plains are wide
Zak: And the stockmen tell the story of his ride.
Louis: Ayy you remembered the poem
Banger: Well, if it isn't my best man, Tommy Woodcock! Cheers to him!
Everyone clinks their drinks together whilst standing before finishing their drink and sitting down in unison.
James: The man of the hour!
Toohey: What have you been up to today mate?
Zak: Still scraping dime?
Oli: No no, he hasn't got as much as you, but he's definitely got a bit of a glint in his eye!
Louis: No, nothing happened! It was just a normal day at the farm.
Chairs fold in, one at a time
James: Come on mate, tell us your secret!
The four slam the chairs
Louis: It was nothing! (walk along chairs) Hand me a beer.
Banger: Come on Tommy, I'm your best mate we tell each other everything! And I know you have something to tell. Now, what were you up to today? (Everyone shuffles on chairs)
LOUIS CAGÉ,
Silence
Louis: I bought a horse
Everyone: Ayyyy!
Zak: A horse!
Oli: A horse!
James: A horse!
Toohey: A beer!
Everyone laughs and claps as Banger takes Louis and sits him down.
Zak: Come on mate you can't be serious, you bought another dud? (Lift Louis)
James: What's his name?
Louis: Phar Lap!
Oli: That's a terrible name for a horse! Everyone: What does it even mean!
Louis: It means... Lightning!
Toohey walks over, whilst Zak grabs another tray of beers and begins distributing them
Toohey: Wait wait wait, you're tellin me that I gotta go home to our mother and tell her my brother, Tommy stiffy Woodcock, bought a horse named Fap!
Everyone laughs
Louis: No no no, it's Phar Lap, the name is from Thailand, meaning he is as fast as bloody lighting!
Everyone: Yeah, yeah
Louis: Nah I'm tellin you, there's somethin special about him… but... I can't afford him… so I'm gonna have to ask a favour. If everyone chipped in (everyone groans) just a little bit, it could change our lives for the better, this horse is different. Think about it Bert, Bertyyy, you would be able to get your name out as a reporter, you'd be an icon, can't you picture it? Bert Wolfe, the national catalyst for the $350 journey of Phar Lap.
Everyone: 350!!!????
JAMES CRAIG, OLIVER ELL, ANGUS GREINER, ZAKARIYA SKAF, MAXIMILIAN TOOHEY PHAR LAP
Louis: Everyone would love you, capturing the heart and soul of Australia's racing identity.
Everyone start trying to ask him questions as if he is popular
James: That would be somethin'.
Louis: And Ted… you hate your job.
As Louis speaks, the scene transforms behind him to show seats held sideways to act as doors, whilst Toohey goes around to each one the doors open and slam in his face
Toohey: Hi, have you heard of Whirlwind vacuums? (Zac slams the door on Toohey’s face, he fakes the slap and regathers as he walks towards Banger)
Toohey: G’day, would I be able to take 5 minutes of your time… (Banger slams the door again - Toohey regathers and moves towards the final door)
Toohey: Are you tired of having dirty floors… (Louis walks through the door and takes Toohey by the shoulder)
Louis: This is not our Australian dream, if Phar lap actually took off you could get away from this… just think about it.
Toohey: And Jim!
Oli: No, no, no Teddy, After the injury I'm pretty sure Jim Pike's career as a jockey is well and truly over.
Toohey: Damn it Jim, it'd be a return to your glory days! Come on, picture it!
Oli is lifted in his seat by all the others to chants of "Jim! Jim!" until he is above the shoulders of all on the chair
Oli: Perhaps this is the return of Jim Pike!
Oli is dropped back down to floor, and his chair is added to the stack of three behind him
Zak: He's getting way too old!
Oli: And Bert! This could be your big break as a reporter... the one to chronicle for Australia the journey of Phar Lap!
James gets up on the chair, and everyone starts asking questions
LOUIS CAGÉ,
Banger: How'd you know Phar Lap was going to take the win at Flemington Racetrack?
James: I knew since day 1, there was something special about lot 41. ( Pause) And Harry Telford! Tommy's your best friend, he needs your help!
Banger: No, no, I couldn't.
Louis: ...
Banger: ...
Louis: What do you say?
Banger: Of course.
Oli: Of course.
Toohey: Of course.
James: Of course.
Zak: I'm not buying a bloody horse!
Louis: Come on, surely you'll put in some money.
Zak: No...
Toohey: It's not like you're short of cash.
Zak: I don't want to.
James: You've gotta pitch in!
Zak: I can't -
Banger: Just chip in!
Oli: You've gotta be part of the team!
Everyone: What do you say?
Zak: No.
Zak walks away, and the others rise to the middle.
Toohey: Don't worry about him lads. How about a cheers, a cheers to Phar Lap!
Everyone: To Phar Lap! -
Scene 4: Cheering
Everyone steps away from the front and moves back, softly chanting as they go, watching Phar Lap win a race.
Everyone: Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go!
The chant morphs into cheers of praise as Phar Lap wins the race, and they hop down off the chairs. Banger approaches Zak.
Banger: I bet you are fuming you didn't chip in!
Zak: No, no, congrats you guys, you deserve it.
Oli parts the chairs and enters. Everyone applauds.
Oli: It was tough last lap, but I gotta say Tommy, you really got yourself a winner out there with Phar Lap!
James: Come on, you gotta let me get an interview for the Wolfe Report!
Oli: Of course!
Louis: (to Banger and Toohey) We gotta plan the next race.
The groups split into opposing sides of the stage, whilst Zak is left alone in the centre. James and Oli set up a camera and talk loudly, whilst Louis, Banger, and Toohey begin to discuss. Sound mutes as Zak approaches James and Oli.
James: And we are rolling! I'm joined now with Jim Pike. Jim, how did it feel to take gold today?
Oli: Every time I saddle up, it's a unique experience, and that's why I love -
Zak enters the frame of the camera.
James: Sorry, can you get out of frame?
Oli: Just in the middle of an interview here.
Zak moves backwards before going over to Louis, Banger, and Toohey.
LOUIS CAGÉ, JAMES CRAIG, OLIVER ELL, ANGUS GREINER, ZAKARIYA SKAF, MAXIMILIAN TOOHEY PHAR LAP
Zak: Just listen to me!
Zak pulls out their chairs, but they continue talking.
Louis: And it is going to be great!
All freeze for a moment as Zak walks back to the centre
James: That's a wrap, let's get this back to the studio.
Scene 5: Vignette of success:
Newsroom Scene:
Everyone finds their seats whilst making as much noise as possible, calling across the space for different reports, calls, etc. Oli looks visibly tired on his seat.
James: Snap out of it, we're printing on Friday.
Louis: Wake up!
Oli: I'm up, I'm up.
Banger: (Calls to Oli ) I need the betting odds to finish this article!
Oli gets up and rushes to Banger. James and Louis cross to Zak.
James (To Zak): I need you to get the Pike report on my desk by Friday for review.
James: Attention! I have the headline for Friday: "Phar Lap sets sights on Mexico!"
Louis: You heard him, get to work!
James goes and stands off to the side as an American Gangster whilst the others morph into the podium.
Podium Scene:
Zak: Congratulations to Jim Pike on his fifth consecutive win here at the Victoria Raceway!
Banger takes photos of him.
JAMES CRAIG, OLIVER ELL, ANGUS GREINER, ZAKARIYA SKAF, MAXIMILIAN TOOHEY PHAR LAP
Oli: To think I didn't even want to jockey a horse again. (chuckles) Just Mexico to go now, the big one! (Raises trophy)
Oli goes and stands off to the side as an American Gangster whilst the others morph into Ted's Tavern.
Teds Tavern:
The chairs are placed side by side horizontally to act as swinging doors - Toohey comes from the back and pushes the doors open as he walks through
Toohey: Welcome and thank you all for coming, it’s hard to believe I couldn't even afford a beer at this pub and now I own the place. All thanks to Tommy, my stupid brother whose ballsy gamble actually worked out. And now I open the grand establishment of Ted's Tavern
Banger: ... thank you for taking me on this journey mate, it’s changed everything.
Louis: My pleasure Haz (hand shake).
Banger walks off
Louis: This ticket... it was this $350 ticket that bought me and my mates a new life. We've come so far, and we've got so much more left to go. (look at Zak) Just wish that all of us could've experienced it together. -
Scene 6: Gang Scene
Gangsters stand spread amongst the back in a slight curve, and Banger steps back to join them as their leaders. He raises a hand to point at Zak.
Banger: You.
Zak: Who are you?
Banger: I'm Tony. That's Johnny, Donny, Ronny, Lonny. And we have… a business proposition for you.
Zak: I'm not interested.
Zak goes to walk away, but the group of gangsters blocks his path.
LOUIS CAGÉ,
Banger: I'm not asking. (Pause) Take a seat.
All gangsters place chairs down for Zak to sit on.
Banger: I think we can all agree (looks at other gangsters for vindication) that Phar Lap has had unprecedented success, and you and your little friends deserve a big congratulations.
Zak: Thanks mate, I’m gonna go now…
Banger: No, no you haven't let me finish ( Move to gambling scene). With all of Phar Lap’s success, you understand that the gambling world is in disarray.
Act out the punters losing once again
Banger: A lot of people are losing a lot of money. We're just looking for a little... equaliser. (Chairs are flipped and sat on)
Zak: What are you going to do?
Banger: It's not what we're going to do... we'd never lay a finger on Phar Lap. It's what you're going to do. (outer chairs move closer)
Zak: I'd never do anything to that horse.
Banger: We've all seen it.
Oli: Ostracised from your group.
Toohey: Forgotten by fame.
Louis: The lone ranger.
Zak: It's not like that! I chose not to join.
James: And now they're wealthier than you'll ever be.
Banger: They take you for granted.
Face it, things have changed (Louis stands on the centre chair) …but they don't have to. Either you kill the horse or (Louis falls and is caught) we kill your friend. Listen you don't exactly have much choice (starts shovelling ). After the race, when the crowds are cheering and the laurels are bestowed (make the grave), we make our way to the Box of
JAMES CRAIG, OLIVER ELL, ANGUS GREINER, ZAKARIYA SKAF, MAXIMILIAN TOOHEY PHAR LAP
Honour where your friend Tommy will be. No doubt he'll see us coming, try to get away, but there's no escaping.
The choice is yours.
Gangsters all leave. Transition to the next scene.
Scene 7: Chair-Square Scene
HIGH ENERGY
Louis: Haz, have you checked the track, he's gotta be on in 20!
Banger: Rain's coming down lightly but should have some give.
Click
Zak: Bert, you need someone to film your interview?
Bert ignores
Oli: Tommy, where's my saddle?
Louis: Far out Jim, this is Mexico! This is the big one!
Zak: Does anyone need a hand?
Click, bring closer half metre
Toohey: Found it, the saddle's got a rip in it!
Oli: That's what happens when the bloody things are made of kangaroo skin (laughs).
Click, bring closer another half metre
Zak: I can go grab a spare from the back?
Everyone ignores him. Click, and the chairs start moving in a circular motion. Bert Wolfe begins commentating the dying moments of the race.
James: The lights are out and away we go! Phar Lap and the Golden Prince hit the turn together, but it's Phar Lap with the longer strides! Jim Pike's urging him forward as it's neck and neck in the final metres…
LOUIS CAGÉ,
Horse moulds together in front of James who is now standing above Zak
There's an intensity in Pike's eyes as the chequered flag grows closer... and he's done it!
Phar Lap takes Mexico!
Horse rears up, moving its head and front legs up. Zak moves from the back to stroke the horse. As he does, the horse begins to fall onto the floor, making sure to lay head in Louis' lap to maintain consistency with prior funeral scene.
Scene 8: Funeral 2
All gather around the horse, laying on the floor with some down patting it.
James: What do ya say boys? He sent the flintstones flying, but the pony kept his feet.
Oli: And the man from down under never shifted in his seat -
Banger: Through the stringybarks and saplings, on the rough and broken ground,
Toohey: And he never drew the bridle till he landed safe and sound,
Louis: To the breezes, and the rolling plains are wide,
All look to Zak for the final line in unison, Zak does not speak - first looking at his feet then looking up.
Lights down.
DRAMA
LOUIS CAGÉ, JAMES CRAIG,
OLIVER ELL, ANGUS GREINER, ZAKARIYA SKAF, MAXIMILIAN TOOHEY
PHAR LAP
DRAMA GROUP PERFORMANCE
LOUIS CAGÉ, JAMES CRAIG, OLIVER ELL, ANGUS GREINER, ZAKARIYA SKAF, MAXIMILIAN TOOHEY
