The Year 12 and 13 Drama class performed the thought-provoking play ‘Girls and Boys’ by Dennis Kelly for their class production. The play centres on a woman whose two children were brutally murdered by her husband. It addresses the persistent scapegoating of mothers, with society concluding after a family annihilation that she should have protected her children, rather than focusing on the father’s culpability and what led him to commit this violent act.
Throughout the play, the mother reflects on memories in a desperate effort to pinpoint the exact moment when she overlooked something or when she could have prevented her children’s deaths. By the play’s end, she comes to terms with the fact that she, along with other mothers affected by this horrific crime, should not feel guilt or be blamed for the perpetrator’s despicable and unpredictable behaviour.
Each member of the drama class took on the role of the mother, performing scenes in pairs one after another, as allocated by Ms Cannan, our teacher and director. This choice was made to emphasise that this unfair blame is directed at a vast number of mothers who, due to societal norms that typically depict mothers as the primary nurturers, are held accountable when this crime occurs. We aimed to highlight how, like the main character of Girls and Boys, this situation leads women to scrutinise and obsess over their involvement. During the rehearsal process, there were contributions made by our actors, which resulted in a dynamic and captivating performance that our whole cast felt proud of! Additionally, we included a positive warm-down game at the end of each lesson to release any unwanted energy that had been accumulated from rehearsing.
This was an amazing opportunity and a fantastic performance. Thank you to the parents and staff who came along to support us.