After having studied the prominent Irish Poet WB Yeats for English Literature, I was somewhat familiar with the themes that were explored by O’Casey’s nationalist and anti-imperialist play ‘The Silver Tassie”; however, no amount of research could’ve prepared me for this play which artfully blends realism and expressionism to give a truly unique viewing experience- by following the life of its hero Harry through WWI and beyond, the play presents incredibly complex themes in a wholly human manner.

The four part play opens whilst Harry is in the youthful prime of his life, we see him in his unbuttoned army tunic, which reveals a football jersey; he has just led his team to victory, winning the Silver Tassie- however, the joy of the scene is overshadowed by the grief of separation that comes from the men having to depart to the war. The second scene of the play is incredibly tumultuous, as the audience, along with the troops, is dropped into a war-torn battle field, wherein the spectacular special effects and the singing of the troops helps us to comprehend the sheer confusion and despair that would’ve been experienced by troops that were no older than ourselves; the scene culminates with the pointing and launching of the cannon at the audience. The third scene takes place in a hospital and shows the despair, anger and hopelessness of the once full-of-life Harry, who has been left paralysed from the waist down following injuries sustained during fighting- and the final scene, which follows from it, contrasts the vitality of those who did not fight with the misery and desolation of those whose lives have been ruined in the pursuit of a cause which is of no interest to them…

Like the others, I thoroughly enjoyed the play, not only because of the themes analysed, but also because of the cast and the incredibly well designed set: there were certain details, which, whilst quite small within themselves, helped to contribute to the overall quality of the experience- one such detail was the action which happened upstage, behind the ‘corridor’ and could be seen through the ‘windows’.

All in all, I would say that this play and the themes explored within it are just as pertinent today as when the play was written, as it essentially is a timeless account of how socio-political factors can utterly ruin the lives of those who have no influence over them…

http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/the-silver-tassie

Gurdeep Mall, Year 12

30 students from year 9 and year 12 were chosen to enter the Asia House Bagri Foundation Literature Festival brought to us by the Eastside Educational Trust team. The workshop’s aim was to expose students to the literature of people of Asian heritage and to encourage people of all backgrounds to write about their background and their values.

The first workshop was very entertaining – we had an amazing time during the team tasks; tasks such as quizzes. The quizzes involved information that was relatable to many of us, it required us to think about Asian heritage and it was surprisingly challenged our misconceptions. We also read extracts from of a variety of fictional books about non fictional events in Asia; they were all inspiring and extremely intriguing. All of us also wrote a creative piece of writing with the theme of Values, and it was an interesting topic to write on. I personally wrote about how our values contradict with western modern society and how we are often faced with the choice between going with our morals or going with society.

The second workshop took place at the beginning of July, and we all had the privilege of meeting Romesh Gunesekera. It was very exciting to meet an author of such well known books such as “Reef” and “Noon Tide Toll”. Gunasekera connected with us on a personal level as he told us of his life, his background and how he became an author. I personally found him very intriguing as both an author and a person. Gunasekera allowed us the privilege of him reading us extracts from his most well known books, and I personally will remember that moment for a very long time. This is because I feel when we read books; we read it as how we interpret it. Our narrative voice may be very different to the writer, but when a writer reads his own words, you seem to hear the same words in a completely different way. This time you may see every sentence, every word, and every letter differently – and it is riveting.

We then had the pleasure of asking him some questions and he did seem very impressed with us all. After, he told us of the new book he was writing. He read an extract from it, and then he asked us if we were in his place what we would’ve written next. I figured he liked some answers of ours as he wrote some of our answers – including mine – down on paper. He then thanked us and gave us all Romesh Gunesekera postcards. It was all in all a very inspiring experience.

Thank you to all who organised the workshops, and I would recommend it to all students!

Sahil Karra

Handsworth Grammar School enjoyed its annual Sports Day at the Hadley Stadium. Alfred were the overall house winners. Please see the results, photos and video clip for more details.

 

Click here to view the photo gallery.