A POWERFUL PERFORMANCE

King Hit

Recently, a serious and relevant message was delivered to the Year 10 students of Kew High School through a powerful performance by Zeal Theatre,  an internationally renowned company founded in 1989 by one of the actors Stefo Nantsou.

Two engaging performers, Stefo Nantsou and Tom Lycos, portrayed about five or six different characters. The performance, while entertaining and language appropriate to the target audience, conveyed the devastating consequences of the so-called ‘King Hit’.

The silence amongst the audience was a good indication that the message the performance was delivering resonated with the age group.  Simplicity was the key to this performance. The use of a cap worn backwards, the removal of a shirt to indicate a new character and the chair in the centre of the stage, all served to create a police interview situation. Clever use of real and imaginary music enhanced the party scene and a loud voice projected by one of the performers here and there, gave the performance a drama associated with this crime.

During this year’s performance of ‘King Hit’, it occurred to me that they should be calling a spade a spade i.e. call this vicious crime a ‘Coward Punch’ because ‘King Hit’ suggests something less cowardly and dangerous.

Overall, brilliant in its dramatic techniques and relevant in its subject matter, this performance was engaging. Zeal Theatre should be commended for its dramatic examination of current and well-publicised issues, which they perform for schools, theatres and festivals worldwide.

 Yianni Andrinopoulos

Year 10 Journalism