From the time this class entered the school as freshman I knew I wanted them to perfrom this show. "The Children's Hour" is one of my favorites and I knew it would be a challenging oiece for them to explore. However, this piece was written in 1934 and based upon a real life court case that took place in edinburgh 1810. How will we approach this show in a new way, with fresh eyes in 2017?
We were able to find a unprecedented amount of parallels to today's current events, just turn on the news and you are sure to hear terms such as collusion or fake news. With all our modern advances we have not been able to outrun the destruction that can be caused by a single lie. We began dissecting the script as if it were a memory play and the character Mary not only was the source of detriment and devestation, but also a psychological case study. The playwright does not give us background information on this girl other than to say that she is troubled and no longer lives with her family. And that is where we decided to begin our work. Who is she, why might she cause suchdestruction with her lies? The portion in the beginning of our production is not written by Lillian Hellman, it is meant to frame her work with this idea of Maey in the present looking back at her actions. And just as we strive as humans to learn from our past, perphaps there is something to be gained from the actions of this reckless young girl that can inform our views in 2017.
- Kirstin Lynch-Walsh
(Director)
