ENGLISH

YEAR 11 INCURSION: MEDEA PERFORMANCE

On Wednesday 4 May, McKinnon Secondary College hosted a thoroughly enjoyable rendition of Medea for the Year 11 cohort. The idea of having the play performed was a wonderful one. Reading the play in our English class certainly allowed us to appreciate the intricacies and historical context of classic Greek literature, but watching it executed on stage was especially entertaining and insightful.

The passion and expression delivered by Medea’s actress underscored Euripides’ key themes of unrestrained desire against the sophrosyne of ancient Greek society, and fit Medea’s agonised characterization of dolour within the play flawlessly. In addition, the decision to exclude child actors from the play was a wise one. In the original, there are several scenes in which Medea converses with her children; now, in the play, Medea speaks only to nothingness, highlighting Medea’s tenuous grasp on reality and the extent of the psychological damage caused by Jason’s betrayal. The performances from the rest of the cast were nothing short of chilling as well—an impressive feat given how many roles the four actors had to cover—thoroughly engaging portrayals of each character. The emotive clarity brought students close to the characters than they ever had been with just the text. 

Overall, the play was enjoyed tremendously by all in attendance! We thank our Year 11 Student Managers and the English faculty for this wonderful addition to our study of Medea that was both great consolidation for our upcoming Medea assessment and an excellent diversion from our regular class.

Anika Deshmukh, Lachlan Quiney, and Lena Munro

Year 11 English students

DEBATING REPORT

Debating continues to flourish at McKinnon, with over 75 senior students improving their skills in public speaking and quick thinking.

We saw a number of wins in Round 3 on Wednesday evening and enjoyed celebrating Year 12 student Alyssa Nikolakopoulos’ achievement of yet another ‘Best Speaker’ award. 

McKinnon continues to dominate in the Brighton region, with three teams sitting at the top of the ladder in their respective divisions.

It’s wonderful to see students stepping outside their comfort zone competing in their very first debate, and a pleasure to watch those who are well-practiced strive to improve further. 

Students from Years 8 and 9 should keep their eye on the newsfeed in Term 3 to join the junior team.

Rachel Walker

Debating Coordinator