CCCS Pupils Hit All the Right Notes This Festive Season
The influential 20th Century German playwright Berthold Brecht was responsible for developing a theatrical technique called Verfremdungseffekt, or in English, “Alienation. ” The idea is that, throughout the course of the play, the audience should be forced to engage with the drama intellectually rather than emotionally. This was achieved by the characters stepping out of their roles to address the audience, thereby breaking what he thought was the dangerous theatrical illusion that one was watching something real rather than a dramatic performance. Brecht would have been proud of the splendid Nursery Nativity which occurred this week during which Verfremdungseffekt was much in evidence. No sooner had the curtain opened upon the glorious technicolour scene of the stable in Bethlehem, when one of the shepherds waved heartily at his parents. Meanwhile the Angel Gabriel, beaming at the audience, started to direct some of the other performers. At one point the baby Jesus was slung forwards from behind one of the character’s back, landing somewhere near the crib, and on another, the donkey had to catch up rapidly with Mary and Joseph who had already set off for Bethlehem without him. But this, I have to say, added to the charm of the occasion and I, like everyone else watching, loved this wonderful performance. Indeed, it was the first time that Nursery has performed its nativity in the Hall. The costumes were brilliantly done and all the performances were full of character and life. It was an unforgettable start to the Christmas festivities.
Between Saturday and Tuesday, I went to three Advent Christmas services, one in the Cathedral on Saturday, one in Pembroke on Sunday and one in Worcester on Tuesday. The Cathedral was extremely busy, as indeed it will be day after day between now and Christmas Day. Indeed it will be completely full for the Christmas Carol Services on the 23rd and 24th December so do get tickets if you can. Meanwhile there was, like the inn at Bethlehem, no room anywhere in Pembroke or Worcester chapels where every possible step and pew had been taken. In all places candlelight reigned. In Pembroke we were plunged into complete darkness, a haunting moment, while in Worcester someone’s service sheet caught fire! There was a wonderful sense of celebration and all of the choirs were in magnificent form. It’s perhaps worth remembering that more than 50% of our pupils in the Prep School are members of one of these choirs, a statistic unequalled in any school in England other than Westminster Abbey Choir School where there is no one educated in the school except for the choir. All in all, our choristers between them affect so many people in Oxford through their singing.
Talking of singing, may I remind you that our School Carol Service is on Saturday morning at 10.30. It is the culmination of the longest Term and is the most important event of the term when we gather as a whole community in the Cathedral - our school chapel of course. All our pupils should be there, please, and we very much hope that you will all attend with as many friends and relatives as you can bring. You will be most welcome. It is very much worth saying that it is an unforgettable occasion and an opportunity to come together as a school community and to do the thing for which we are best known in the outside world – to sing.
One of the greatest pleasures that I have as Headmaster is when one of the teachers comes into my study to let me know that they would like to award one of their pupils a Headmaster’s merit. These are worth having for all manner of intrinsic reasons, but they are also worth winning because they are worth five merits! Almost always the piece of work concerned will be spectacularly good and in its own way out of the ordinary. The pupil will appear in my room with his or her work and I look through and discuss it with them. This week the boy who appeared had been awarded a Headmaster’s merit for a piece entitled “How to wash a woolly mammoth. ” I have to confess, I have never wondered how one washes a woolly mammoth, nor, you may be surprised to hear, have I ever had occasion to do so. But should this occasion ever arise, I now know what I would do. The instructions were neatly laid out and numbered. They began:
1. One enormous bath
2. One woolly mammoth
“Oh!” I said, I’m glad you’ve included the woolly mammoth. “Well!” he responded, looking at me rather sceptically, “If you don’t include the mammoth, you’re not going to get very far, are you?” I have to say, upon reflection, that I cannot argue with that!
