Crossing the Divide by Shock Therapy Productions
Performance Dates:
Wednesday 5 May, 7.30pm
Thursday 6 May, 10.30am
Duration: 60 minutes, no interval
About the Show:
Liam, a scholarship student from the Torres Strait is on his high school History excursion - a two-day trek across the Great Dividing Range, learning about the expedition by Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson.
As their guide Lionel draws attention to events often left out of the history books, tensions mount when Liam’s friend Max refuses to see how European settlement created anything but a pathway to progress for a newly forming nation. Crossing the Divide is a vital conversation starter for anyone who calls Australia home and asks the question, “Can we find a path to a more unified Australia, or will we always be divided?.
Suitable for: Students in Years 7 - 12
Student Tickets: $22 each (one teacher free per 10 students)
Express Interest in School Booking
Curriculum Links & Education Notes
Victorian Curriculum links: Drama, Music, English, Humanities - History, Humanities - Civics and Citizenship, Critical and Creative Thinking, Personal and Social Capability, Ethical Capability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures.
Themes: Colonialism, Power and Class, Racism and Reconciliation.
Education/Teachers Notes are available to extend the learning in the classroom, including a Q&A with the playwrights and post-show discussions and activities.
Reviews from previous schools:
“A Shock Therapy Arts performance will always be two things: a vibrant piece of theatre, and engaging for young people. CROSSING THE DIVIDE is an opportunity for students to be entertained by enjoyable, high quality theatre that also engages them with a range of perspectives and truths about colonisation and First Nations Australian issues.
The characters and perspectives are pitched perfectly for teenagers, who would not stand for being lectured to or patronised, while inviting deeper consideration of the impact of history and social attitudes. Shock Therapy Arts has expertly balanced the intention to challenge young audiences to understand more about division in this country, with the need to gently and without recrimination invite them into that understanding.
As always, theatre is a perfect vehicle through which an audience can know another’s world view, and in CROSSING THE DIVIDE, Shock Therapy Arts has created a relatable, honest and sometimes funny group of characters with whom young people can empathise and travel through time and story to see, learn and listen. I wish every lesson shared with young people could be as poignant and engaging as watching Shock Therapy Arts’ CROSSING THE DIVIDE.”
- Charlene McMenamin, Head of Drama, Matthew Flinders Anglican College, Buderim, QLD.
Contact Cath.Hedge@frankston.vic.gov.au or complete this online form to express interest in booking.