The Long and the Short and the Tall · Mon May 22, 22:44 by Eleri Straker
I’ve mentioned somewhere before what a difficult year 10 group I have. Well they’re still difficult, but over the last few lessons, I’ve been fascinated by them. The reason for this is that I decided to read another ‘modern’ play. A couple of years ago, with my boy-heavy year 11 group (when they were year 10) I decided to have a go reading the Willis Hall play ‘The Long, the Short and the Tall’. Initially, I was a bit concerned, as the play was written in the 50s about World War 2, so I thought they’d think it was a bit ‘old hat’. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The only thing that’s dated about this play is the British slang. My class (the boys, anyway) loved it. They loved the violence and the brutality (and the swearing!)
So I thought I’d try again with this year’s class. And it’s worked. The ideas in the play are just as relevant today as they were fifty years ago, particularly if you point out the parallels with Iraq. The question of whether or not you can kill an unarmed prisoner in cold blood, even in the middle of a war, is just as valid, if not more so, as it was then. The boys, particularly one who is in the Air Cadets, are completely engrossed, even the most disaffected are willing to discuss the questions posed by the playwright.
What’s been a real eye opener though is the reaction of the ‘chav princess’ in my class. She’s the one who was so brutally rude to me some months ago. She’s been allowed back in (after much grovelling and abject apologies on her part). And she asked if she could read one of the parts. As this was a first for her, and owing to the fact that she’s a good reader, I gave her one of the wordier roles. It was a real revelation. She was brilliant. She lost herself completely in the part and read with true feeling. It was a pleasure to listen to her and the other students were carried along with her enthusiasm. The boy reading the part of the ‘barrack room lawyer’ Bamforth, was superb (though he was a bit insulted when I told him it was type casting!) and the gentle Richard made a moving Mitchem (the one who has to make the dreadful decision in the play).
No doubt that when the class has to write about the play, it’ll be a different matter. But for the moment, I’m enjoying seeing this difficult group responding (at long last!) to a piece of literature which to them, seems fresh and new. It’s great to see them getting involved with the themes of the play and being able to see their relevance even today.
At the moment, I’m enjoying seeing this class finally ‘getting it’. I don’t know how long it will last, but I intend to make the most of it while I can.
