CULTURE The Book of Everything
The Book of Everything Adapted by Richard Tulloch from the novel by Guus Kuijer Directed by Nikki Bleyendaal Old Boys’ Theatre 29–30 October 2020 In 2020 we introduced a Year 10 Drama option that we thought would be popular. Little did we know that it would be so popular we would need two classes. Nikki Bleyendaal made the bold choice to present a play using both classes, each performing one act of the play. Her decision to double cast paid huge dividends, as the boys learned to work together and to collaborate on making a show where everyone gets a chance to shine. Within each act roles were multi-cast and the audience quickly understood and accepted that costumes were enough to identify roles, no matter which student was wearing them.
father, so that when things turned dark and noxious (normally around dinnertime), the tragedy matched the comedy. Domestic violence seems an unusual topic for a children’s story. Then again, for countless children who have experienced or witnessed such abuse, it could be a welcome recognition of an often- unacknowledged problem. The boys had a great time, and the audience loved the mental gymnastics in this quirky and delightful production. As always, Drama staff and Year 13 student Ben Davis were committed to supporting the work in the mad fourth and final term of the Covid year.
Wide-eyed and unceasingly curious, Thomas Klopper generally sees the best in people around him. He is nine years old (almost ten) and when he grows up, he just wants to be happy. His story begins in post-war Amsterdam, where he writes down all the incredible things he can see that everyone else seems to ignore: tropical fish swimming in the canals, a plague of frogs, and even the Lord Jesus, who pops in for a chat. But growing up is hard when you have to face the sadness, secrets and severity of an unhappy family. We joined Thomas on this fantastical journey as he recorded all of this – the good and the bad – in his magical and hopeful Book of Everything. Open-hearted honesty and humour served to endear us strongly to Thomas and almost everyone in the story, with the possible exception of his unconscionably pig-headed
David Chambers Director of Drama
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Christ’s College Canterbury
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