Angela Betzien’s CHALKFACE takes us into a very different world, the staffroom of the fictional West Vale Primary school. The stage lights come up on Ailso Paterson’s very finely detailed set design before Denise comes through the door, the first to enter after a holiday break.
The play’s title is a bit of a play on the word coalface. Essentially, the teacher’s staff room is at the coal face of a kids education.
Jessica Arthur’s production is very lively with the bridging music, composer Jessica Dunn, and lighting, Mark Shelton, being quite dramatic, at times.
The cast are excellent. Catherine McClements plays the coarse senior teacher Pat, who wants to achieve more with her teaching but feels that the system is against her.
Pat says the wittiest lines in the play, “For many of these kids just teaching them to blow their noses and leave their private parts alone is a monumental achievement.”
Susan Prior, always good to see on stage, plays the good and simple natured Denise who finds out early on in the play that she is pregnant.
Ezra Juanta is Steve, an anxious young teacher recovering from a back injury who fears that he is being stalked by one of the students’ parents.
Michelle Ny is the snitchy, grumpy school administrator, Mrs Filch, who is very protective of the stationary cupboard and the public address microphone which sees her make some gaffes.
Nathan O’Keefe is the young principal, Douglas Housten, who makes an entrance with flair, wearing black lycra, hair pulled back in a pony tail, and sporting a new pushbike.
Stephanie Somerville plays the enthusiastic, passionate Anna, fresh out of college and very well read, on the latest theories on child development.
There’s always that one kid that no-one wants to teach. For Pat, it is a boy named Hurricane Little. He was supposed to have left the school at the end of last year but is returning to repeat the year because it is felt that he is not mature enough to go to high school yet.
Pat is upset because she knows that she will be assigned to teach him again. She begs the other teachers to take him on. Anna graciously says that he can be one of her students.
Betzien’s play looks at a lot of things. What can the primary school teaching environment achieve? How does one alter the great divide between public and private school education? How can one keep pushy parents at a safe distance?
CHALKFACE is playing the Drama Theatre Sydney Opera House until 29 October 2022.