'Them'

On Tuesday 3rd August, in the brief window between lockdowns and quarantine, Year 11 and 12 Theatre Studies students were able to attend one of the only two performances of Samah Sabawi’s play “Them” at Westside.  We were very lucky to see it as it was an excellent play and seeing a live show these days is becoming a rarity. We wrote to Bagryana Popov thanking her for bringing her play to Shepparton and she asked if she could include our responses in the La Trobe University (Melbourne) newsletter. 

Below is an excerpt from the article:

“The play and production of “Them” are on the VCE playlist. Due to COVID lockdowns, only two performances took place in Shepparton, for the local community and VCE Theatre Studies students from Greater Shepparton Secondary College. 

Below are reflections from Kerry Cameron, drama teacher at Greater Shepparton Secondary College and the Theatre Studies students from GSSC in Shepparton: 

Thank you for coming to Shepparton and bringing your wonderful production of "Them". 

The audience (including the students) were captivated from the beginning as the actors engaged with them immediately singing and dancing. This was abruptly halted by the sounds of gunfire, the stage blacking out and the actors fleeing. This juxtaposition of people striving to live normal happy lives and the chaos and fear of war continued right through the performance… 

The inclusion of unexpected humour in a story of suffering served to have the audience identify and empathise with the characters and their struggles to try to inject some normality into their lives and to try to cope with their situation and survive without sacrificing their humanity or moral compass." 

Quotes from student responses: 

• ‘The play showed how difficult life in a war zone is and how ordinary people like us face difficult decisions.’
• ‘I don’t normally get emotional but I got really emotional watching this play. It was very sad and you got to like the characters.’
• ‘The piano always stayed on the stage. I think it was a symbol of culture and beauty in the middle of destruction and showed that humanity can be found anywhere. Omar and Salma demonstrated two very different ideas on surviving in a war zone. Although Salma pushed past her moral “line in the sand” it made you think “what would I do?”’
• ‘I really liked how the sets were transformed…and settings were moved by the actors to show their ever-moving transitory lives and how the lights represented all the different households in the same situation.’
• ‘I was highly impressed with the set and how well it was used … especially with the sparse look on stage …it definitely looked like to me they were in times of war and poverty.’

Well done to all Theatre Studies students. You are now published theatre reviewers! 

Kerry Cameron

Drama