Year 11 Drama Excursion

SLAP, BANG, KISS; AN ANALYSIS FROM A STUDENT’S PERSPECTIVE

On April 27th, the Year 11 Drama Class set out on an excursion to view the production “Slap, Bang, Kiss”. I was excited for it. Not only was it an opportunity to see places and people I hadn’t encountered before, but it was the first ever English production I would watch. The theatre was small, the stage close with no more than a hundred or so seats, the place filled with a mysterious misty haze, making it difficult to see. It was rather scary trying to walk up the steps to the seats when I could barely see five feet in front of me, however the mist undeniably added to the atmosphere. 

All there was on stage were a bunch of blocks, and I was confused at first. It all looked so simplistic, but the simplicity most certainly did not take away from the experience. In fact, I believe that it had added to it and made things feel more intimate.

Around me, people were chatting with one another. However, when the lights dimmed and the crowd went silent, I knew that the play had begun and the moment I and my peers had been waiting for had arrived.

The three actors had appeared out of nowhere, and that was only the beginning of the magic that was about to unfold throughout this hourlong production.

Three stories from multiple different perspectives were presented in beautiful ways, with the actors quickly transforming from one person to the next. I found it fascinating that even without changing their appearance, it was very clear that they were playing a different person. There were multiple funny moments, multiple heavy moments, and many times where I felt like I was completely immersed into the story, like I myself was a part of the tale they were telling. It was as if they were speaking to us – the crowd – as a whole, and directing their actions and words towards us.

The music and lighting choices had worked so perfectly to help convey and solidify the scenes that played, and whenever the actors were not actively speaking, they would still sit and observe as if they were a part of the scene as merely lurkers. It amazes me how one can just be sitting and still appear as though they are part of a scene.

Nearing the end of the play, I had managed to piece together a potential message that the directors and playwrights may have wanted to convey. People spend most of their day to day lives just thinking and not acting on things that they desire. People stay stagnant and don’t change for fear that it may be the wrong decision, or they may embarrass themselves or whatnot. I feel like this play’s message is that if you don’t make the change now, then who will and when? Why just think and not do? People have the power to cause a stir, to make a difference, and to just do, and yet many never seem to take the chance. There was a point in the play where one of the characters shouted at the audience over and over to “Do something.”, and it really stuck with me. It really put into perspective the vast majority who would much rather sit still and watch things happen than take action.

One more quote in the play that I can’t deny hasn’t left my mind since is when one of the characters had said; “We’re all separate until something unites us.” It makes me think of how even just two people are more than one; that the togetherness and camaraderie that comes with standing together helps with making one’s voices heard. It makes change much more encouraging and seems closer to reach once we stand together.

I feel like this play has given me a lot to think about with how I go about my daily life, making me think twice about deciding not to do something. It gives me a fair bit of bravery and confidence knowing that I am not alone in wanting to change and wanting to make a change. It’s a wonderful production that I think anyone would enjoy and think about afterwards.

R.H. Olfindo