Inspiring Literature

Having finished reading A Midsummer Night's Dream, 8WE and 8CS have been exploring the play through creative projects. Each class has designed a wedding suitable for some of the characters in the play, as well as creating shoebox dioramas of a key scene to help them consider the choices a director must make while staging a production of the play.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream wedding

Ellie-Mae challenged herself to design an entire wedding in 20 minutes, focusing on making a menu inspired by key quotes and events from the play and where best to seat characters for fun conversation and to avoid arguments.

Caitlin chose a cherry theme, inspired by Helena's quote "Like to a double cherry, seeming parted, But yet a union in partition" and planned to continue this in her menu. She was sure to include a stark warning about the dress code so that Helena didn't feel jealous that her guests looked better than her!

Teo and Mia focussed on invitation designs that reflect the personalities of the characters, both setting their weddings in Athens where the play was based.

These students thought about which locations might suits the couples, with Eleanor deciding that upmarket Helena and Demetrius might like a fancy wedding the Central Park, New York, while her classmate was inspired by the fairy subplot and Lysander and Hermia's desire for escape so chose to set their wedding in an enchanted forest.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream shoebox diorama

8CE and 8WE chose a scene from A Midsummer Night’s Dream and recreated it in a shoebox.

This student was inspired by the clearing where the Athenian couples rest one evening, and tried to make it attractive and welcoming by including a bonfire to warm up by and a log to sleep against.

Emilia has also staged the scene where the couples rest, using the distance betwwen the athenians to indicate their relationships at the time. While Hermia and Lysander are happy to be relatively close, upset Helena has to keep her distance from Demetrius who no longer returns her affections.

Lizzy has depicted Helena’s confusion and dismay by having her character on an extended stage with the forest setting in the background. She has considered how the physical choices of an actor can convey emotions without words.

Ollie and Olivia have considered the secrecy of the play, showing one character hiding behind a tree to eavesdrop on a private conversation between two others. They’ve added modern English quotes to the scene, thinking about how they could ensure a modern audience understands what’s happening.

Treasure Island Chairs

7WS used their knowledge of piracy from Treasure Island to dress up a classroom chair as a pirate, thinking about how they could use limited resources to bring their ideas to life. Several groups used their pirate-chair as a springboard to create wanted posters for their pirate, detailing their crime and the reward for their capture.