Five great plays…for teaching history through drama

Tay Bridge & The Signalman

by Peter Arnott

Cast: 4f, 3m

Synopsis: On Sunday 28 December 1879, the unthinkable happened. Battered by a ferocious storm, the Tay Bridge collapsed. A powerful ensemble piece, the play gives a whole new perspective on this famous bridge disaster, telling the poignant and unexpected stories of the passengers on the train that night. It won Best New Play at The Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland in 2020. Its companion piece, The Signalman, looks at events from a different angle, through a taut monologue.

Why it's great for teaching history: Tay Bridge examines the lives behind the disaster of 1879, when the bridge collapsed as a train from Burntisland to Dundee crossed it, killing all 75 people aboard. Who were they? What were they escaping, and where did they believe they were heading? Tay Bridge tells the stories behind this terrible disaster.

Chicken Burger N Chips

by Corey Bovell

Cast: 1m

Synopsis: During the summer holidays of 2009, Corey dreams of nothing but hanging around with his friends while ordering as much Morley's as possible … until Jodie comes along. Meeting her makes Corey realise the changes that are happening within his beloved Lewisham Borough and think about what his future holds.

Why it's great for teaching history: History isn't always about specific events – it can be learning and engaging with the ordinary stories behind an era. Chicken Burger N Chips’ protagonist takes us through the trials and tribulations of being a London teenager in 2009, among a backdrop of gentrification, knife crime, the financial crisis and climate change.

Dead Sheep

by Jonathan Maitland

Cast: 2f, 4m

Synopsis: It's 1989 and the seemingly invincible Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has sacked Geoffrey Howe, her Foreign Secretary. She apparently had nothing to fear from him: his speaking skills had been compared to those of a dead sheep. But Howe overcame his limitations to destroy Mrs Thatcher with one of the great political speeches. Dead Sheep is a drama tinged with tragedy and comedy. Its themes – loyalty, political morality and Britishness – are still relevant today.

Why it's great for teaching history: Howe's resignation speech, 30 years old, has been hailed as the greatest parliamentary speech of all time. Howe was Thatcher's chancellor, foreign secretary and deputy PM, and was thought to be her most loyal follower. Instead, in an utterly unexpected move, he ended her tenure as Prime Minister. It's a masterful play about politics, Europe and the Conservative party. It will help pupils understand that politics’ obsession with Europe goes far deeper than the 2016 Brexit referendum.

Dinomania

by Kandinsky

Cast: 23 parts split between company of any size

Synopsis: 165 million years ago, an Iguanodon is killed in the heart of a rainforest. Time passes, the rainforest becomes the South Downs, and every part of the Iguanodon degrades and disappears – except one tooth. 197 years ago, in safe, affiuent 1820s Sussex, a country doctor finds the tooth. But where does it fit in the story of an earth created by God just 6,000 years ago?

History can be learning and engaging with the ordinary stories behind an era

Why it's great for teaching history: Dinomania tells the lesser-known tale of the tragic life of Gideon Mantell, a country doctor and amateur geologist whose discovery of an Iguanodon fossil reshaped our understanding of the natural world, laying the foundations for Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species. Imagine being the first person to find proof of something so unbelievable that it defies understanding – how would you make people believe you? It's a devised show, with plenty of roles, and enormous fun to perform.

Game Over

by Mark Wheeller

Cast: 9f, 8m and 7m or f (doubling/multi-roling possible)

Synopsis: Game Over tells the harrowing true story of teenager Breck Bednar, who was groomed over the internet and brutally murdered by someone he met online. Breck's story is told in Wheeller's potent verbatim style, using the words of his family, friends, and the killer. It's a shocking but deeply powerful play.

Why it's great for teaching history: On 17 February 2014, Breck Bednar, a 14-year-old boy from Surrey, was killed by 18-year-old Lewis Daynes at a flat in Essex. Bednar knew Daynes only through online gaming and had never met him in person until the day of the murder. Breck's family established The Breck Foundation to raise awareness and promote responsible use of the internet. His mother Lorin said, ‘I want Breck's tragedy to open the eyes of everyone to recognise the dangers of online predators. We all need to look after each other.’

All of these plays, and the two reviewed on pages 36 and 37, can be bought from www.salamanderstreet.com