Spies and silliness in school play

COMEDY and mystery are set to blend as Ballarat High School’s performing arts students stage the play The 39 Steps this month.

Forty-six young people between years 7 and 12 are in the show, including lead actor, Flynn Carli-Seebohm, who is playing Richard Hannay.

“He is bored with his life, it’s very mundane, and he just wants something pointless to do,” he said.

“He goes to a show, meets a lady, she ends up being a super-agent, and now he’s tangled in a spy mess.”

Carli-Seebohm said he has enjoyed putting on a British accent, and the slapstick nature of the play.

“It’s also a very physical show,” he said. “It’s got a mix of different kinds of comedy from standard jokes to physical humour.

“Little kids will like it because there’s people falling over, and adults will like it because there’s adult jokes. It’s cleverly written.”

Year 11 student Naomi Ross is not just acting in the show but has composed and written the lyrics of a song, which the cast will perform before the curtain closes.

“I wrote a finale song, and the production has been a great outlet for that, being nurtured by Mrs Quick and Ms Kelman,” she said.

“It is very 20s and 30s inspired because of the time period of the show. It is summing up the performance, and I’ve allowed each character a line, and a little goodbye moment.

“On the holidays, we sung it for the first time, and it was so cool hearing everyone sing my song that I had written.”

Teachers and co-directors Jessica Quick and Ashley Kelman have been leading the production.

“Doing a play, rather than a musical, gives us the opportunity to carry more of a story,” Kelman said.

“So much more time is spent on the dialogue, story, and narrative, where half of a musical is made up of song-and-dance.

“It’s nice to see the students delve into the story.”

Quick said she is excited for friends, family, and the public to enjoy the show as much as she has been in rehearsals.

“The students are hearing me cackle a lot, and I can’t wait for them to have a full audience laughing and responding,” she said. “That’s when the show really lifts.”

The 39 Steps is written by Patrick Barlow and John Buchan, and will be staged at the Robinson Centre on Friday 28 and Saturday 29 July at 7pm. Visit bit.ly/44jo3Ps for tickets.