Flying Fish Theater
Learning English is more than just grammar and vocabulary. It is contact!
The Flying Fish Theatre offers performances which bring the original English language directly to the learner’s ear.
It makes them realize how much they already know and understand of the „other“ language. English theatre offers them the possibility to take their learning a step further by enjoying a highly entertaining visual performance made especially for them.
On July 8th, 196 pupils at Oken-Gymnasium experienced an English theatre performance of a different kind, live, directly brought from the theatre stage into our school, and performed by native and experienced professional international actors.
„Mirror Mirror“ is a shocking, humorous and sometimes confronting play examining the all too common problem of someone with an eating disorder. Obsessed with body image, the main protagonist, Sarah, makes us look at some of the causes behind the issue: Anorexia, compulsive exercise, low self-confidence and social awkwardness. Already fixated by exercise and healthy eating, Sarah becomes more and more jealous of her peers. The influences of the media, social pressure, low self-esteem and a feeling of being out of control are all aspects that affect her behaviour and thinking. The problem is further compounded by flippant comments from her class mates and even her Dad. Her drive to be thin and attractive increases; which in turn begins to restrict her life. Her boyfriend, Jamie, tries to bring her out of her thinking patterns, but he is helpless once the illness has taken hold. The events all come to a climax when Sarah collapses from exhaustion and malnutrition. Through professional help and support from her family and friends Sarah’s chances are good; a thought triggering and entertaining play for intermediate English learners, ideal for further classroom discussion.
This is what pupils say:
Am vergangenen Freitag besuchte die Theater Gruppe „The Flying Fish Theatre“ das OKEN-Gymnasium. Sie spielten zum letzten Mal das Theaterstück „Mirror mirror“, in dem es um ein Mädchen mit Essstörungen geht. Obwohl das Theaterstück komplett auf Englisch war, verstanden die Acht- und Neuntklässler den größten Teil des Stückes. Nach dem Theaterstück stellten sich die zwei Schauspieler (Kelly Griffiths und Peter Biggs) vor und es bestand die Möglichkeit, Fragen zu stellen – natürlich auf Englisch. Wir bedanken uns im Namen aller Schüler bei der Theatergruppe.
Von Kathrin Panitz und Tamara Herzog (Klasse 8a)