Advanced English 

Bell Shakespare 's National Tour

On Friday the 11th of September Advanced English donned their finest and boarded the Shakespeare Express ready for a night out at Wagga Wagga Civic Theatre. The night started strong with some enormous meals and buckets of soft drink that had some of the students worried about our seat’s proximity to the bathroom and the length of the play’s acts but this didn’t stop anyone from getting ice cream. 

After everyone was fed and watered we made our way to the theatre, which was well and truly bustling with anticipation for the opening night of Bell Shakespeare’s National Tour of Macbeth. In the foyer we did a quick review of the play’s story and then with the bells ringing we headed to our seats. Knowing some of the weaknesses of our class, fidget toys were duly distributed and everyone settled in. 

At interval, one student gave the glowing review ‘this isn't as boring as I was expecting’ while another said ‘the language actually isn’t too bad when you can see it in context’, comments that Mrs Quilter and I both took as enormous wins for Shakespeare. Newly armed with maltesers and drinks everyone readjusted themselves and got ready for thrilling Act Two of Macbeth. Act Two delivered on its promise of creepiness with ghosts, jumpscares and smoke machines and seemingly, a death a minute. Our students along with the rest of the audience were glued to the stage. 

At the conclusion of the show we were lucky enough to participate in some of the post show celebrations with more food and a conversation with the talented actor playing Macduff. I don’t know if our students were star struck or embarrassed at having their teachers make them engage with cast members, but they bravely told him that the play was better than they thought it would be, and that actually the second act in particular was pretty good. 

Buoyed on too much sugar and the joy of live theatre the students reboarded the Shakespeare Express and headed home to Narrandera, a journey which they succeeded in making Mrs Quilter and I slightly crazy by never allowing a song to completely finish before changing it to something else. 

It was a really wonderful night where all the students got involved and were open to experiencing something new, even if it was something they would never normally be interested in. While Mrs Quilter and I know we have probably not turned anyone into a Shakespeare nerd, we are really proud of how everyone showed up and gave it a chance. 

Ms Katharine Crompton 

English Teacher