Charlotte Varcoe
THE juxtaposition of Heaven and Hell, along with the events of 2020, were depicted on stage last weekend as Saint Martins Lutheran College drama students performed at Wehl Street Theatre.
College senior school drama students entertained the audience with the play Tracks, which followed a series of characters who had died and were at a train station, forced to decide whether the train was headed to Heaven or Hell and if they were heading aboard.
It was complemented by the college’s Year 9 and 10 drama students performing Disaster, a play focused on last year’s summer fires, floods and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The performance followed a group of girls stuck on a cruise ship during the pandemic, a farmer fighting to keep bushfires away from his family home and a number of school children fleeing the floods.
Senior drama students Thomas Foote and Clancy Cane were among the Tracks cast, with both stating they were proud of the performance which was held in front of relatives, friends and peers.
Ms Cane’s character was a homeless girl who had been waiting at the station for three years and said she interpreted her character as anxious and a procrastinator.
“My character really just over-thought the whole idea and she had been there for three years because she didn’t want to go to hell,” Ms Cane said.
Mr Foote, who portrayed a sleepy old man, said it was an entertaining character to play on stage.
“He was ready to go, he just wanted to leave while everyone else was wondering and questioning everything,” Mr Foote said.
“All the characters who came together had just found out they had died and were trying to work that out and although they may have seemed all over the place originally it all wrapped up towards the end where they tried to figure out when they died and how as well as where they were going.”
The two students said they received positive feedback from the community in the wake of their performance.
“We had people at the end of the play say we left them on a cliffhanger and asked whether the characters went to Heaven or Hell but really it was up to the audience’s perception to decide that,” Ms Cane said.
“It was really cool to be able to have everyone back in the theatre again and there were a lot more people than we had originally expected too.”
Both senior students said the performance by the Year 9 and 10’s was also a success, stating it was great to present the issues of last year through the eyes of younger generations.
“The performance projected really well and from what we heard the audience loved it too,” Mr Foote said.
“There is a lot on the news from professionals who speak about the events of last year but there is not really a voice for the younger generation who also went through it so it was good to have the chance to get our opinions and what we have seen, experienced or heard out there for people to also enjoy.”
