As of this school year, H.I.S. has entered into a cooperation agreement with the theatre of the City of Heidelberg. This means that all MYP and DP students will attend one performance per year. On September 29th, Grades 6 and 7 kicked things off with a visit to the play Troy! Stowaways in a Trojan Horse. Inspired by the ancient myth, Kallmeyer’s play explores the subject of war with depth, emotion, and surprising humor: when two rival children meet inside the Trojan horse, they choose dialogue over violence. Even though going to the theatre in town was a bit of a challenge for the non-native speakers, the modern production got all the students thinking about friendship and enmity, war and peace, and different perspectives.
Grades 11 and 12 attended an evening performance of Propaganda on the 7th of October. The play premiered at the Theater der Stadt Heidelberg on the 3rd of October. This German-Chilean co-production, directed by Ana Luz Ormazábal, deals primarily with the influence of right-wing extremism on social media channels. The performance, characterized by post-dramatic elements, addresses many aspects of political indoctrination. After the performance, there were lively discussions in class with many observations and insights, which are reflected, for example, in the statements below from students of Grade 12.
B: - I found the play really unique, especially with the interplay and combination between different languages, theater styles (such as showing the events using livestreaming), intertextuality and different characters extremely captivating and interesting. I would have liked for there to be a more apparent plot and thread which connected the whole play, however perhaps the absence of such, played into the idiosyncratic nature of this play. Overall, it was definitely worth my time to give up my Tuesday evening relishing this play.
M: - I thought the play to be completely different from the plays we study and studied in English, German and the Performing Arts, due to the time difference. I thought it was difficult to follow due to 4 different languages, despite knowing 2 and a half. I find older plays to both have an engaging plot and a deeper message while this plays main focus seemed to be on the message rather than the message’s vessel. Perhaps modern plays are unable to gain attention without providing a jarring portrayal of the world. Watching the play gave me a necessary update on the current state of art.
L, M, A: - The beginning of the play was more overstimulating than successful in delivering the actual message, due to the continuous screaming of one of the actors. However, the point of the play was to provoke the audience in order to leave a lasting impression, which was clearly achieved by the end of the play. The use of different media was used to represent the simultaneous narratives occurring in differing parts of the world, and therefore diverse cultures. While it was occasionally difficult to follow, especially due to the dialogue being written in several different languages with many subtitles at once, it clearly portrayed various global themes, such as toxic masculinity, racism, and gender roles. Therefore, while the beginning of the play started in a chaotic nature, the critique on societal issues was well delivered, hence making the play worth our time.
Mi: - Personally, I think there was an excellent hook to the play, which captured my attention throughout the two hours. I found the portrayal of the incel a nice mix of reality and humor, and knowing the terminology I felt like I had a leg up when it came to understanding what he was saying. The play was very modern, while I am used to analysing more traditional ones in class. It was hard to follow at parts, not because I did not understand what was going on, but because I was unable to string the scenes together. However, after conversing with my friends I figured out that randomness is part of the message. Overall it was a nice way to do something different, even though I do not like having to sit in silence.
