Scotch College

The Insect Play

Scotch and Ruyton collaborate to perform as insects in metaphors explaining a destitute man’s reflections on the meaning of life in a complex, black and comic play.

WORDS: Ms OPHELIA HOPKINS − DIRECTOR

During May a cast of 37 Year 9 and 10 students from Ruyton Girls’ School and Scotch performed The Insect Play about one destitute man’s reflections on the meaning of life.

Asleep on a park bench, the Tramp (played with outstanding talent by Matthew Douglas, Year 10) finds himself speaking with flirtatious butterflies, anxious beetles and warlike ants. Using insects as a metaphor through which to explore different aspects of the human condition, the Capek brothers have created a black and comic world, exposing our flaws and foibles.

The cast created some wonderful and detailed characters – from crickets to moths – and it was a privilege working with such an exceptional young cast. This is a physically demanding piece for actors and requires a lot of de-coding intellectually; asking performers to consider their characters as both symbolic and literal, while at the same time maintaining their comic potential. The cast rose to the challenge and created some fantastic characters, including Adam Fitzgerald-Quirk (Year 10), Libby Hillman and Duncan Cameron (Year 10) who brought multiple roles to life throughout the piece. The performers should be very proud of their work.

The performances were a success, thanks to the support of our backstage crew (led by our stage manager Peter Green, Year 11) and Scotch College Drama Department staff who helped to bring this surreal world to life. We hope that the cast and crew have many fond memories of the process. We look forward to seeing these students continue to develop their theatrical skills with us over the coming years, and I encourage all of them to reach for the stars. GS