Robinson Crusoe in Spanish
On Tuesday 5th February Warminster School had the honour of hosting Firewalk Theatre, an international theatre company based in Zaragoza, Spain. Pupils from Year 10 to the Upper Sixth welcomed others from St Mary’s, Godolphin and Downside as they gathered in the Thomas Arnold Hall to watch a Spanish production of Robinson Crusoe. It was an extravaganza of a play with a fantastic mix of humour, suspense and emotion.
Two talented actors played Robinson and Man Friday and all the stage props were made from everyday items to give an air of authenticity to life on an island. The two actors gave an extremely funny rendition of the story of Robinson Crusoe in Spanish and engaged the audience from the very start. There were some hysterical moments, particularly when the characters interacted with the audience and when Crusoe tried to teach his new friend how to pray. The antics of the characters caused hysterical laughter from the audience and the pyrotechnics had pupils literally jumping out of their seats. However, we were all also deeply moved when Robinson Crusoe’s dog, his only friend on the island at that point, passed away.
Esther Kirrage, one of our AS Spanish pupils, commented “the play was excellent! It was a really good experience to see something in Spanish as it is really helpful with widening vocabulary”.
The level of Spanish was pitched perfectly and, for those who needed extra support, Man Friday repeated some sections of the dialogue as if his native language was English. In this way the younger members of the audience could follow the plot.
Thomas Liquorice, one of our GCSE Spanish pupils said “I thought it was really funny and I liked the way they used English to reiterate the points – it helped the audience understand”.
The play was an excellent opportunity for all of the pupils to experience Spanish, spoken by native speakers, outside of the classroom in an engaging and inspiring way.
Sixth Formers Leo Gloor and Marco Haefliger also enjoyed the show, commenting that is was “funny, unexpected and quite simply brilliant!”
We look forward to welcoming Firewalk Theatre back next year and are eager to hear what their next production will be.
Nicola Rogers
Head of Modern Foreign languages