Professor Joe Winston from the University of Warwick recently visited Bloxham to deliver a drama workshop exploring Jean Racine’s ‘Andromache’, a play written in 1667. Head of Drama, Joe Hornsby, provides the following report:
There has been a lot of interest in the re-interpretation, or re-working of Greeks myths by feminists recently – notably Pat Barker’s last two novels and also Stephen Fry’s very accessible retellings. One particular area that feminists have emphasised looking at is the aftermath of the Trojan War through female eyes.
Joe’s version of Racine’s ‘Andromache’ is potentially of interest to older teenagers with key characters being not much older than themselves and a plot that hinges around unrequited passion and all that comes with it – jealousy, vengeance, emotional manipulation. It explores the dark side of sexual love but also can be seen to provide avenues for exploring post ‘Me Too’ issues, for example the abuse of male power.
The workshop served as an introduction to the play and explored the mythical background and the motivations of the key characters through a mixture of game playing and active drama strategies. Additionally, the Fifth-Upper Sixth Form Drama students engaged in an active exploration of text extracts, akin to the RSC approaches to teaching Shakespeare.
Joe Winston plans on writing an article about the workshop for the Journal of Aesthetic Education. The article will explore whether the plays of this seventeenth century French playwright, who wrote exclusively for the court of Louis XIV, be seen to be of any interest to young people today?
