Our Year 9 students gathered as a cohort in the Auditorium to watch Fighting the Kaiser as part of a Humanities and Social Sciences (HaSS) incursion on 9 August 2023.

The one-man show, performed by Starrs Productions’ Glen Phillips, showcased the experiences of Australian soldiers and how they were impacted during World War 1.

Reflecting on the performance, one student said that “it pulled everything together really well and it was great to have the information presented in live/visual form which helps to consolidate the events and the long-lasting effects of the war in a very real way” with another student pointing out how good of an actor Glen was “especially because he did it all by himself.”

It was a sentiment shared by many others with Hannah saying that “his play was entertaining and funny” and Lushelle finding the show “intriguing which was good as it got the whole audience paying attention.”

The performance went beyond just entertainment with Tyronne recalling how “it was very real and raw with detail” while Riley came away from the performance feeling like he “started to understand a bit more about the long-lasting trauma that soldiers have today.”