Play of the Week

The Real Inspector Hound by Tom Stoppard

Dr Pryce

“What do you think you’re doing? You’re turning it into a complete farce!” 
For this year’s 6th form play, The Milton Studio will be transformed into a 1960’s style theatre as we enter the world of Tom Stoppard’s The Real Inspector Hound. This hilarious play is a parody of the stereotypical parlour mystery. The play follows two theatre critics, Moon and Birdboot, who are watching a nonsensical setup of a typical ‘whodunnit’. By chance, they become involved in the action causing a series of events that parallel the play they are watching. In this preview, I will take you through some of the central theatrical conventions that the play explores, particularly focussing on the styles of comedy which Stoppard utilises.

Book of the Week

The Sea by John Banville

Recommended by Sasha Georget-Roukline

The Sea is a hauntingly introspective novel; Banville transports us to the foggy memories and twisted corridors of Max Morden’s inner psyche, exploring grief, the grip of the past and the complexity of remembrance. Winner of the 2005 Booker Prize, Banville showcases his masterful control of prose, indulging in lyrical and rich language at the melancholic rhythm of Morden’s narration.

A recently widowed art historian, he returns to the seaside village of his childhood vacations in order to confront and rediscover the traumas of his past. An anonymous coastal town, it becomes alive in both Morden’s present and in his memories, a character in its own right that embodies the untamed and dangerous beauty of the sea. 

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

In our second post celebrating Black History Month, Adam Seydo considers the work of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is one of the most well-established Nigerian postcolonial writers, having begun her writing career in 2001. 

For many students at St Paul’s, their only encounter with Adichie has been through the far-from-adored Purple Hibiscus, a novel which, while GCSE-suitable and open for effective thematic analysis, has sometimes failed to gain the fondness of the English students I’ve spoken to. Perhaps its simple narrative style doesn’t read as exciting literature, or the subject matter fails to grab the attention of some. 

I personally don’t hold the same opinion of the novel, finding its directness to be an asset. Adichie’s simplicity of language enforces the raw honesty of the novel, particularly with regards to the stark portrayal of religious tyranny and physical abuse. It also reflects the world through the eyes of Kambili, the innocent fifteen year old protagonist, whose world view is yet to be fully developed. The representation of family in the novel seems deeply authentic thanks to the clarity and detail Adichie furnishes her descriptions with, and it is clearly written with a love for Nigeria and its customs. However, the criticism I’ve heard for the book is understandable, and as Adichie’s first published work, it shouldn’t be too surprising that it isn’t her strongest piece of fiction. The ending, while shocking, feels like it lacks build-up or reasoning, and as a result ends up destabilising the flow of the narrative. This may certainly be an intentional decision, but it still feels as though the unpredictability of the final few chapters is unnecessary. 

BHM SPS: poem of the week

To celebrate Black History Month, this week's posts feature writers engaged with this year's theme, 'reclaiming narratives'.  Today, Alex Frydas introduces poet Lee Mokobe.

Lee Mokobe's slam poem, What It's Like to Be Transgender, offers a touching exploration of the experience of growing up transgender and the struggle to embrace one's identity, particularly within the confines of a deeply religious community, like the one Lee was raised in South Africa.