{"id":24473,"date":"2024-06-07T16:39:25","date_gmt":"2024-06-07T08:39:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kis.edu.my\/kisnewsletter\/from-the-head-of-secondary-25-05-2024-copy\/"},"modified":"2024-06-08T07:22:40","modified_gmt":"2024-06-07T23:22:40","slug":"from-the-head-of-secondary-08-06-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kis.edu.my\/kisnewsletter\/from-the-head-of-secondary-08-06-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"From the Head of Secondary 08.06.2024"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Robin Hood! <\/strong><\/p>\n

The school production has definitely been the highlight of this week.<\/p>\n

For those of you who don\u2019t know, Robin Hood is a legendary\u00a0heroic outlaw.\u00a0Originally depicted in\u00a0English folklore he has featured in literature, theatre, music and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled\u00a0archer and swordsman and in some stories he is depicted as being of noble birth. In modern retellings of the legend he is sometimes depicted as having fought in the\u00a0Crusades\u00a0before returning home\u00a0to find his lands taken by the\u00a0Sherrif of Nottingham. Traditionally shown dressed in\u00a0green, he is most famous for stealing from the rich to give to the poor. Through retellings, additions, and variations, a body of familiar characters associated with Robin Hood has been created. These include Maid Marian, Robin\u2019s followers, the\u00a0Merry Men and his chief opponent, the\u00a0Sheriff of Nottingham. Robin Hood and his merry men lived in Sherwood Forest and it was from there that they plotted against the rich people, stealing their valuables to give to the poor.<\/p>\n

The KIS retelling of the legend took a somewhat unusual view of the legend and what we enjoyed in Borneo in the 21st<\/sup> Century was nothing even approaching what had gone before in the retelling of the fable. Everything about it was amazing on every level: the acting, the lighting, the movement, the timing, the sound effects, the music. However, none of that could have happened without the exceptional originality of the script, Mr Bryant\u2019s tour de force. It had everything, dramatic set pieces, perfect synchronicity, comedic structure.<\/p>\n

Audience anticipation, already high, rose even further when Mr Bryant stood in front of the audience just after 7pm to welcome everyone and introduce the show, giving us a hint of what was about to unfold. He told us \u2018not to panic\u2019 and that \u2018everything would become clear\u2019. If by panic Mr Bryant meant the sharp intakes of breath, the gasps of shock, those moments when everyone just about stopped breathing, the peals of laughter, the irresistible urge to clap along with the music [or even to sing along] then those moments definitely existed, together with awe at the totally believable yet invisible soaring of arrows through the air, or the clash of swords in the fight scenes. At times we did not know where to look, there was so much happening on the stage [sometimes, that was partly hidden by use of the smoke machine, which made it even more effective].<\/p>\n

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Every member of the cast played their roles to perfection and at no point did any individual step out of character. The huge set pieces included every single actor, all on stage at the same time. Some aspects of characterisation will stay with me, for example, when we are introduced to Maid Marian. She is described to us as \u2018a mild mannered young lady\u2019 but then it becomes clear that Marian is not somebody to be dismissed so lightly:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re sorry Sir, she refuses to come out of her room\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe says she\u2019d rather die\u201d and \u201cShe will not marry him\u201d<\/p>\n

The scene culminates in Marian making a dash to escape into the forest with her mother plaintively calling after her \u201cDon\u2019t go darling\u2026..take me with you!!\u201d [cue lots of laughter].<\/p>\n

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