Keep
The Red Flag Flying High, Miss
Burning
Books
Newcastle
Alphabetti Theatre
Until
Friday 7th September 2018
Creatives:
Writer - Jess Green
Director - Paul Rogers
Producing Theatre - Wolverhampton Arena
Theatre
Cast:
Janine - Therese Collins
Kat - Hayley Thornton
Scott - Conor Deane
Mrs Sizzly - Blue Merrick
Dom/Mr Potter - Matt Beames
It has
been a big summer for writer Jess Green: being crowned BBC Poetry Slam Champion
2018 and the adaptation of a music and poetry show called Burning
Books, which she took to the Edinburgh Fringe in 2014 and 2015, opening
in Newcastle.
This play takes place in the staff room of a comprehensive
school serving an estate. The head is making changes and forced academisation is
on the cards. Set back in 2014, Nicky Morgan is in charge of education and she
is pushing the changes that her predecessor Michael Gove had started. Morale is
challenged, the kids are tough to please and workload is going through the
roof.
Entering the staff room on her first day on the Teach First
training scheme is Kat (Hayley Thornton). Armed with Almond milk and cup cakes
to share, she wants to make a difference. She first runs into the Head of
Maths, Janine (Therese Collins) who is a part of the furniture and has seen
many faces come and go. More welcoming is PE technician Scott (Conor Deane),
and former headteacher’s PA Mrs Sizzly (Blue Merrick), who is now working as
the librarian.
Schools are funny places and Jess Green captures the
essence of some of the school politics between staff. Where do you sit, who can
you be friends with, can I borrow a cup? Sometimes the staff room can be an
extension of the playground – only the participants are older.
The experience of new teachers has always been tough – I remember
the state of some of the ones we faced back in the 80s. The new schemes can
involve a much greater contact time in the classroom, during the training year,
than the old PGCE. This results in a
higher workload, and resultant stress, and less mentoring/reflection time –
especially if your mentor is “very busy”. The writing reflects how bad it can
be, in a less than supportive school, for the new teacher and that may go some
way to explaining the high drop out rates of new trainees nationally.
You also have the experienced members of staff that are
open about their contempt for the system or may have faces that no longer fit.
This show partially addresses why some experienced teachers are now leaving the
vocation before their original planned retirement date. Some of the bullying is
explicit, some of it is happening off set.
There is also the issue of funding. This is not about
teacher’s pay – though the lack of a pay rise that is in line with inflation
for nearly a decade is briefly mentioned. The lack of resources in schools is a
direct result of funding issues and heads struggle to find the solution when
the cost of equipment continues to rise.
So why do people teach? A brief scene over a couple of
whiskeys partly redresses the balance and recognises the moments that can make
the classroom one of the best places to work.
The pace of the play, under Paul Rogers direction, is evenly
handed. The politics are not party political. The issues are real enough. The
cast do a great job in ensuring the characters are recognisable to anyone who
has worked in a school environment. It would be so easy to go for bland
stereotypes. The show updates John Godber’s Teechers
for the profession in the teenies (if that’s what you call the decade).
The show clearly struck a chord with the audience, a number
of which I suspect had worked/currently work in schools. The show is a great
start to the new season in Alphabetti’s 6th season.
Review by Stephen Oliver
Tickets:
Show
Begins: 7.30pm
Tickets: Pay What
You Feel – donations are collected when you leave
Age
Recommendation: 12+
Running
Time: approx. 2 hours including interval.
