Yesterday the theatre company Box Clever delivered two online workshops to Upper 5 and Lower 6 (Year 10 and Year 11) based on their study of ‘An Inspector Calls’. Anna Fuge in Upper 5 has written about the workshop she attended.
The ‘An Inspector Calls’ workshop was both an immersive and interactive learning experience we all enjoyed greatly as a year group. During the workshop there were pre-recorded segments of performances of the play, which allowed us to visualise the body language of the characters and solidify our understanding of the relations and dialogue between them. These segments were accompanied by workshop discussions, prompting us to share our own opinions via Microsoft Teams.
Personally, this workshop opened my eyes to different perspectives on the characters I had not previously considered, helping to widen my overall understanding of the play. This was encouraged by the exchange of views between both the staff who ran the workshop and my peers. This helped us all gain a broader understanding and a more balanced discernment of the characters. An example of this was (spoiler alert!) the discussion regarding who was most to blame for Eva’s death (a character who ends her own life by drinking disinfectant, which is revealed in the first act of the play.) I was made more aware of Eric’s role in Eva’s death and the crimes he committed against her. This was significant, as previously I had a two dimensional view of him, believing he was less to blame because of the remorse he displayed and his acceptance of responsibility. However his actions were arguably the most offensive towards Eva, therefore requiring the most repentance, something I had initially not considered.
Overall the workshop was exciting and helped consolidate our understanding of the play. It also inspired new approaches towards the play for us as a year group.
