Directors
David Harrold, Sylvia Pepper
Tel: 01707 266688
Email: info@cadcoproductions.co.uk
Directors
David Harrold, Sylvia Pepper
Tel: 01707 266688
Email: info@cadcoproductions.co.uk
This was an immensely entertaining, but ultimately deeply unsettling, look at British schools. We followed the progress of the newly qualified English teacher Phil, beautifully played by Mark O’Sullivan, from his first unsettling days battling with paperwork and unruly pupils through to his eventual disillusionment and resignation, via the triumphant achievement of awakening an interest in poetry and Shakespeare in the rebellious apparent failure, Kevin.
All the other characters – Geoff, the cynical old hand who reminisces fondly of the days when all behavioural problems were dealt with not by Ritalin but by ‘Mildred’, the headmaster’s cane; Roberta, busy carving out a career for herself in training other teachers to deal with the bureaucracy; and all the kids – were played with astounding virtuosity by Jane Pennett and David Harrold himself. The gender reversal whereby the macho Kevin was played by Jane, and ‘his’ classmate Becky by a dangly-earringed David, worked superbly. And only years of close observation could have created David’s steely-eyed headmaster, waiting imperiously for the audience to settle down after the interval.
With songs, lightning changes of scene, sheer farce (the descent of Daphne’s lecture into meaningless twittering, for example) and knockabout audience participation, the mixture of polemic and entertainment resulted in an evening which was at the same time moving, thought-provoking and funny. Sylvia Pepper’s direction kept everything moving along at a cracking pace, with effortless transitions from laughter to seriousness, from satirical exaggeration to bleak reality. The slick economy of the production demonstrated yet again the magic that live theatre can work when an audience is given the chance to imagine the setting rather than stare at its attempted reproduction.
The play is founded on the passionate conviction that there is something rotten in the state of our schools, that the emphasis on the boring techniques of passing exams leaves no room for real education and inspired spur-of-the-moment teaching; in short, that our young people are being denied the excitement and discovery of true learning. It is indeed a funny and wickedly accurate recreation of teacher behaviour and pupil rebellion, and it was hard to know who to feel sorriest for, the staff or the kids; all were trapped into tormenting one another in the same insane system.
One of my personal litmus tests of good theatre is that I spend more time afterwards thinking about the subject of the play than about the acting or the theatrical effects that made it work. By that test this was a very good evening’s theatre: superb though the acting and direction undoubtedly were, it is the plight of the country’s school children that has preoccupied my thoughts since seeing it.
I am very pleased to be able to recommend this play without reservation. For anyone involved in the current school system, this witty and professionally produced piece of theatre will be a sardonic and satirical reminder of some of the worst excesses of an over-regulated and highly prescriptive system. For anyone outside the world of school, it serves as an alarming eye-opener about how we are stifling creativity and innovation. It’s also an entertaining evening of live theatre.
At a time when poorly-briefed and ill-informed government ministers think nothing of pronouncing on anything from teaching reading methods through to class setting and when to issue detentions, Dumbing Down is a salutary reminder that it is individual teachers and pupils who make a difference – and their needs and judgements need to be valued and considered.
Schools and universities should book this event as pure entertainment, as an ideal basis for theatre studies, and as a potential stimulus for debate and discussion.
Dumbing Down, with a subtle combination of biting humour and astute observation, deals with many of the current issues at the forefront of the education debate.
The stifling of an inspirational teacher by a head whose hands are tied by an over-prescriptive regime of testing and inspection would be recognised by all in education. Those not involved in schools have the opportunity to gain a genuine insight into the workings, and failings, of the system.
The company of three treated the audience to an engaging evening of high quality, professionally performed and produced live entertainment. Against the backdrop of a simple set, we were drawn into the world of the real staffroom and the real classroom. Of disaffected pupils, teachers and managers. David Harrold obviously understands the subject matter, but, most impressively, the issues are brought to life by a cast who have grasped the concepts of what is happening in schools today.
In endorsing this outstanding piece of theatre, I would recommend all those organisations involved in education to book Dumbing Down. It expresses in a most appropriate way what many feel about the current educational practices and offers some hope for the future.