Grammar Gazette- Issue 1, 2018

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YEAR 9 AND 10 DRAMA PRODUCTION: DESIREE DIN AND THE RED FOREST, BY MAXINE MELLOR 1 to 3 October

YEAR 7 AND 8 DRAMA PRODUCTION: STORIES IN THE DARK, BY DEBRA OSWALD 31 August to 1 September

Tomas and Anna are alone after fleeing from their war-torn hometowns. As they hide together, they tell each other fantastical folk stories to comfort one another as they try to survive the conflict around them. The play explores the power of stories to provide comfort and distraction in a time of great uncertainty. Despite settings in surreal, magical lands, the characters and their struggles are recognisable in our world, where war is a constant reality for many nations. A text used in the Year 8 Drama curriculum, the play offers students the chance to see their classwork come to life in the context of a polished theatrical production. The play will be directed by Australian actor, Thomas Larkin, whose extensive professional experience and insight will provide a rich learning experience for our young actors.

The familiarity of the setting of this play is hard to ignore: the home of a single mother and her three children, reeling after a recent divorce; a new housing development on the city fringe; the teenager’s bedroom, a sanctuary from the complexities of the world outside. Desiree, struggling to adjust to her new home life, doesn’t know how to deal with her anger. She retreats inward to the Red Forest, a fantasy realm that is facing changes and conflicts of its own, including environmental destruction and discontent among the inhabitants. Working in collaboration with Brisbane-based

artist, Anna Straker, and guided by the playwright herself, multi-award winning artist, Maxine Mellor, this reimagining of the original text will use puppetry to bring the world of the Red Forest to life.

AUTUMN ISSUE / 2018