Outstanding Theatre Production by School Students

Bangalore, 13th March, 2023: On the 10th and 11th of March, the students of Stonehill International School performed The Insect Play at Bangalore International Centre. The satirical play by the Czech brothers Karel and Josef Čapek, features various insects parodying human society and critiquing societal structures through a cycle of power struggles and oppression.

The play highlighted the flaws of human society through the lens of insect society. The students depicted a range of insects–butterflies, dung beetles, crickets, ants whose lifestyle and morality are, sadly, all too human. The 1922 original and its keen observations of the life cycle and poignant message of the futility of war remain relevant to this day.

The three shows successfully ran to packed audiences including Stonehill International School’s Founder, Mr. Jitu Virwani, Chairman & Managing Director, Embassy Group. The set, costumes, props, lighting, makeup, choreography and music were impeccably done in-house. On directing the play, Ms Jennifer Browne, Drama teacher at Stonehill commented, “It has been a privilege to work with such committed and talented young actors. The students learnt so much from the experience and developed collaborative skills, confidence and creativity…”

Drama/Theatre in the IB curriculum is a multifaceted course of study. It gives students the opportunity to be creators, designers, directors and performers. The Insect Play gave students a bigger platform to showcase their talent outside school.

Joe Lumsden, Deputy Head of School and Secondary School Principal commented, “It was so heart-warming to see our students back on stage again this year. They rose to the challenge of putting on a full-scale drama production and I was really impressed with all aspects of the play from the set design to the choreography, and from the acting talent on display to the creativity and expertise of our directors. I’m already looking forward to what our teachers and students can come up with next year!”