TEACHER RESOURCE PACK ICARUS FOR TEACHERS WORKING WITH PUPILS IN YEARS 4 - 7

Page 2

ICARUSBy Katrin Lange

Translated by Purni Morell

Directed by Cressida Brown

FROM SAT 26 JAN - SUN 10 MAR 2019FOR PUPILS IN SCHOOL YEARS 4 - 7

WHERE THE WATER ENDS AND THE SKY BEGINS, THAT’S WHERE I’LL FLY.

Here, where pleasant cottages stand colourful in the friendly village and a gentle breeze

wafts through the air, children play in the square laughing and shouting - but Icarus, oldest

son of the builder Daedalus, does not play with them. He sits looking out over the sea and

thinks about his father.

His country is in turmoil. His family is falling apart. His father, far away across the sea, is

forced to work for the tyrannical King Minos. What can one boy do against injustice? Will he

save his family? Will he save his father? Will he save himself?

A bold, contemporary and playful take on the ancient myth.

Page 3

CONTENTSINTRODUCTION p. 4

ABOUT THE PLAY p. 5

MAKING THE PLAY: INTERVIEW WITH THE DIRECTOR p. 8

OVERVIEW OF DRAMA ACTIVITIES p. 10

A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE TEACHING SEQUENCES WHICH WILL BE ADDED TO THE PACK IN OCTOBER 2018

TEACHER RESOURCES

Page 4

INTRODUCTIONThis pack is for teachers bringing pupils to see Icarus in the spring of 2019.

The Unicorn production of Icarus is a new interpretation of the classic Greek myth. In Katrin Lange’s new version, Icarus is a brave, impetuous young man who wants to help his family and save the people of Crete. A child who stands up to the powerful King Minos and challenges his father to do the right thing, Icarus questions what he is told to believe and pursues the truth.

The play also explores the tension between nature and the human-made world, the urban environment and the power of natural phenomena that we cannot control.

The classroom activities (which will be added to the pack in October) will be designed to support and extend the pupils’ visit to the theatre and offer teachers ways to explore the themes in the play, before and after a visit. The activities will use drama and storytelling as ways of investigating ideas relevant to the play and supporting teachers in meeting National Curriculum requirements:

‘All pupils should be enabled to participate in and gain knowledge, skills and understanding associated with the artistic practice of drama. Pupils should be able to adopt, create and sustain a range of roles, responding appropriately to others in role. They should have opportunities to improvise, devise and script drama for one another and a range of audiences, as well as to rehearse, refine, share and respond thoughtfully to drama and theatre performances.’ National Curriculum

The full resources will also include contextual detail about the myth, with historical information that will help connect your visit to the play with history around the Ancient Greeks.

Resources will also offer links at KS2 and KS3 to the National Curriculum: to English through the development of spoken word and creative writing, and to PSHE learning.

TEACHER RESOURCES

CPD - FRIDAY 30 NOV, 10AM - 4PMThere will be a free teacher CPD day for Icarus where teachers can find out more about the show and gain practical experience of the accompanying scheme of work before running it with students. To book this or find out more, email schools@unicorntheatre.com.

Page 5

ABOUT THE PLAYThe Unicorn production of Icarus is a reinterpretation of the classic Greek myth for the 21st century. Icarus is a bold and brave boy, who follows his father to Crete and the court of the powerful King Minos, where he ends up saving the people of Crete from a catastrophic natural disaster.

The play begins in mainland Greece, where Icarus and his family live.

Under the wide blue sky, near the sea, where trees and shrubs grow tall, and flowers bloom in tiny gardens - here, where fruits ripen and vegetables thrive, where pleasant cottages stand colourful in the friendly village and a gentle breeze wafts through the air, children play in the square laughing and shouting - but Icarus, oldest son of the builder Daedalus, does not play with them. He sits looking out over the sea and thinks about his father.

Icarus’ father Daedalus left the family many months ago to look for work. At first he wrote to them and sent money home, but now his letters have stopped and Icarus’ mother is struggling to feed her children, Icarus and his four younger siblings.

Icarus wants to go and find out what has happened to his father. He tells his mother that he needs money to buy a ticket to travel to Crete – the place where his father’s last letter was sent from. He knows that something must have happened to him; he wouldn’t just stop writing or sending money home, so something must be wrong.

His mother doesn’t want Icarus to go. She thinks he is too young and the journey too dangerous, but Icarus insists, saying he will stowaway if he has to, so she reluctantly agrees. She gives him money for the ticket, as well as the jumper she has been knitting and another to give to his father when he finds him. And so Icarus buys his ticket and sets off across the sea for Crete.

The sea seems endless, grey in the haze – where does the water end and the sky begin – and all around is a Nothing that is Everything.

Seagulls fly overhead.

Only gulls soar above the ship, with their shrill cries; an albatross searches for the way. . .

When Icarus arrives at the port in Crete he is met by his father Daedalus, who is very guarded: he says nothing about why he hasn’t written, or why he can’t go home with Icarus. Instead he insists that Icarus stays with him, and warns ‘Be quiet, don’t speak so loud.’

Crete is very different from home:

The city is endless, a sea of houses. Very straight. Very grey. Very tall. No tree, no bush, no flower growing in the spaces between them, not even weeds growing between the rectangular paving stones. The beach has been covered in concrete, waves attack the stone like enemies, for the stone is the enemy of the water. And the people – the Cretans – they hasten to and fro, not looking each other in the eye, their faces fixed on something far away, something they don’t know...

TEACHER RESOURCES

Page 6

TEACHER RESOURCES

Daedalus tells his son that he is King Minos’ builder, and that Icarus must now stay with him in Crete and become his pupil and assistant. Daedalus explains he is not building colourful houses as he did back home, but that the King is paying him to build a labyrinth:

A house in which there are hundreds of ways but no way out. Stairs into nothing, walls blocking your way, false doorways, a crypt, you go around and around in circles, and sometimes, far in the distance you might catch a glimmer of daylight, like hope, but you’ll never reach it. It’s the deepest darkness of the darkest winter night. You can never find the way back.

Icarus asks whether the labyrinth is a game, and Daedalus tells him it is a prison, where the King keeps a beast - a monster.

Daedalus takes Icarus to meet King Minos, the King of Crete.

They stand before Minos and his daughter Ariadne, who are both wearing golden masks. Daedalus tells King Minos that he wants to return home as soon as he has finished building the maze. The King refuses, saying he must remain in Crete, where his next job will be to build him a tower. Angry, Icarus stands up to the King and speaks up for his father, insisting that Minos lets Daedalus return to his family who are starving and need him. The King is furious at Icarus’ boldness and is about to have him taken away by guards when Ariadne steps in and asks to have Icarus for herself; she says that she wants to punish him for her own amusement.

Alone with Icarus, Ariadne removes her mask and explains that the King, her father, has locked her brother away in the maze. She asks Icarus to get the plans for the maze from his father Daedalus so that they can rescue her brother. Icarus agrees to do what he can. Then Ariadne tells him to scream so that the guards outside her door think he’s being punished, and then urges him to escape.

Icarus returns to his father and asks him for the plans to his maze. His father says that the plans have been destroyed, but when he describes the layout of the maze Icarus realises that the pattern of the jumper his mother gave him is exactly the same: she has knitted the plans for the maze into the jumpers.

Icarus journeys into the maze where he finds the Minotaur (Minos’ son and Ariadne’s brother). Hidden in the darkness Icarus makes out a strange creature: part bird, part oak tree, part dragonfly. The Minotaur tells him that he was locked in the maze by his father because he tried to warn of a terrible flood that was coming that would destroy Crete. King Minos didn’t want the people of Crete to hear about the flood, saying he didn’t want to cause panic amongst his people, so locked his son up in order to silence him. The Minotaur warns Icarus that the volcano that will cause the flood is very close to erupting and that he must warn the people of Crete to run for the hills. He tells Icarus that the animals who told him about the danger have already left and are safe high in the hills; it is only the humans who refuse to listen.

Icarus rushes back to King Minos and urges him to warn his people about the flood. King Minos still denies what the Minotaur says is true, but adds that if disaster does strike then he has ordered Daedalus to build him a tower so he can climb up into it and save himself when the flood arrives.

Icarus threatens to tell everyone, but King Minos has him arrested and put in a prison.

Ariadne visits Icarus in prison, who urges her to shout out and warn the people of Crete about the

Page 7

TEACHER RESOURCES

flood, but her voice doesn’t reach far enough. Then Icarus explains he has left the unravelled wool from the jumper in the maze so she should be able to find her way in to visit her brother and then guide him out.

That evening, Daedalus comes to Icarus in prison. He has made two sets of wings for Icarus and himself to escape the prison and Crete. Daedalus warns Icarus not to fly too close to the sun and together they escape. But as they fly over the city, Icarus knows that first he must warn the people of Crete of the coming natural disaster. Instead of flying home, he flies low over the city so that his voice will carry. But his voice alone is too quiet. Daedalus, seeing what his son is doing, joins him, and together they fly over Crete calling out to the people, who finally hear, understand and flee the city.

They turn north to fly home, but Icarus, full of delight for what he has done, soars higher and higher into the sky. He flies too high, his wings fail and he tumbles down into the sea.

In despair, Daedalus wants to follow his son into the sea, but he realises his wife and four other children need him, so he turns and flies home alone to see his wife, and break the news that their son is dead.

The play ends with Icarus deep under the sea: the creatures of the deep come to Icarus’ aid, swimming towards him, to pick him up and carry him home.

Page 8

MAKING THE PLAY INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR CRESSIDA BROWNWHY DID YOU WANT TO DIRECT ICARUS?

I’ve always been fascinated by the myth of Icarus because there’s something so extraordinary about a boy flying so close to the sun. Historically, Icarus has been about hubris – or to translate for modern times, he had an ‘arrogance’ about him. He has often been portrayed as swaggering, overconfident and someone whose downfall is thinking that he is untouchable. When I read the play I was surprised and delighted that this version really celebrated him facing his fears: being brave enough to jump and daring enough to become a hero and sacrifice himself. I think in the current climate we really need to be re-evaluating those who are prepared to stand forward and put themselves on the line. It’s a timely choice to make by the writer.

The second reason I wanted to direct the play is that it involves Icarus flying too close to the sun and plunging into the deep, dark ocean, so the theatrical challenge of how I’m going to do that is obviously a thrilling one.

THE GREEK MYTHS HAVE BEEN TOLD IN DIFFERENT WAYS FOR EACH NEW GENERATION. WHAT DOES THIS VERSION OF THE STORY FOCUS ON?

There’s a lot about the relationship between the parents; historically the story has focused on Icarus’ father Daedalus, who is the inventor, but this version starts with the mother and what she feels about her husband being absent, and the family being in a desperate situation. They need Daedalus to come home. In a way, I see this play being about the reconciliation of the two parents, and the relationship between them and their son.

Siblings are also really prominent: Icarus has four siblings that are dependent on him during his father’s absence. When he travels to find his father, he meets Minos’ daughter Ariadne, who he joins forces with and undertakes a subsequent adventure. It becomes a question of what you would do for your siblings – Icarus breaks into the maze in order to talk to Ariadne’s abused and neglected brother, the Minotaur.

The play doesn’t shy away from darkness either. Set against the backdrop of two very different places, with poverty at home and tyranny under Minos, I think it also allows us to explore really deeply what those raw emotions of being in a family are. I think that will be relevant and exciting.

The play highlights the relationships between family: between father and son, father and daughter, father and mother and sister and brother. Even though it’s a classic Greek tale, it is something that can capture a young audience’s imagination, because essentially the story is about a boy trying to make sense of his own world.

TEACHER RESOURCES

Page 9

Daedalus, Icarus’ father, is a prisoner in Crete, and although he’s not been put in a physical prison, he’s been ordered not to go home by King Minos. Daedalaus is a prisoner of fear, he needs his son, Icarus, to convince him to leave. This makes Icarus the hero: he takes control and goes beyond his fears in order to reconcile his family. In the original story Icarus is always a bit of a disappointment because he creates problems for his father. Whereas here it shows what it is to have the tenacity to stand up for yourself and your family’s rights or situation.

There’s a phrase repeated throughout the play: “Do you always believe everything people tell you?” It’s about always questioning who your source of information is, and being critical enough to figure out whether a story is real or not. It’s a play about a boy, an ordinary boy, trying to make sense of his world and his home life.

THE MINOTAUR IN THIS VERSION IS NOT HALF-MAN, HALF-BULL AS IN THE ORIGINAL STORY. WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT HIM?

The Minotaur might not be the Minotaur which you remember from the myth. He’s presented by King Minos as something dangerous, disgusting and scary and something to be avoided, just as he is in the original myth. But he’s also the abandoned and mistreated brother. I think that it’s about creating fear – he’s a fearful, scary creature at the beginning, however Icarus learns how he has been mistreated and abused. It links back to that idea of ‘Do you always believe everything that people tell you?’. In the end, the Minotaur is actually the saviour of the city.

The Minotaur also represents the natural world; he is made up of lots of different parts of nature. Conversely, King Minos represents the man-made world; the urban environment of concrete, power and greed. The play explores the dynamic between that man-made world and the natural world and the need to listen to what the natural world is telling us. It is Icarus who forces his father to listen to the Minotaur, the natural world, and act accordingly.

THE ENDING IS QUITE SURPRISING - HOW WILL YOU APPROACH STAGING THE FINAL SEQUENCE?

Yes, there is a very surreal bit at the end. There are dolphins and octopuses and a kind of comic piece as Icarus descends into the depths of the sea, which is going to be very exciting to stage.

It is an extraordinary, wonderful challenge for a director, actors and set designer: first we fly too near to the sun, then we descend with Icarus into the ocean, where he meets dolphins and octopuses that sing him along home. I think that’s the magic of theatre. It’s going to become epic by the end. I imagine at the end that we’re going to use sound design, lighting and the set to really make the audience feel like they are in the sky and then in the ocean with Icarus. It will feel immersive and it will feel very magical.

TEACHER RESOURCES

Page 10

DRAMA ACTIVITIESTEACHER RESOURCES

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES:

The drama activities in this pack will be designed to give teachers ideas and strategies for work in the classroom through which to explore the characters, themes and setting of the play before and after a visit. They will extend the imaginative reach of the play and allow children to give shape to their own thoughts, feelings and understanding in drama form.

Our teacher resources and CPD support teachers in embedding drama in their curriculum planning. Working through drama allows children to explore things that matter to them within a fictional context, draw on their prior knowledge and apply it to new situations, develop language as they give expression to new understandings and develop emotional intelligence and critical thinking as they explore things from multiple perspectives. Drama enables children to take responsibility, make decisions, solve problems and explore possibilities.

Drama work will be developed with our partner schools and will be added to the pack in October 2018. Activities may include:

The city of Crete and King Minos

Crete is a city of concrete - a grey place where no trees or flowers grow - and King Minos is the powerful ruler who demands obedience from his subjects. It is also a place of secrets and rumours. This drama work will explore the story from the perspective of the citizens of Crete.

With a strong, powerful leader, King Minos’ people have stability, but there are rumours, and everything may not be as it is presented to them. They are told there is a monster imprisoned underneath their city – but what if it isn’t a monster? What if it is in fact the only thing that could save them?

ICARUS What you’re saying could be true, or it could be a lie, and actually he is dangerous and he’s locked up for a good reason. And I’m being tested to see if I’ll uphold the laws of the state. Maybe if I do as you say, I’ll be punished, and so will my father.

ARIADNE How can you think that of me?

ICARUS I have to think that of you. I believed your mask at first. And now I believe your face. But one is the opposite of the other.

Page 11

TEACHER RESOURCES

Greek Masks

Ariadne wears a scowling mask to fool her father, but behind the mask she is someone else. Exploring the power of masks, these activities will look at what we choose to present to the world and what lies hidden behind the mask.

This work will link to the use of masks in Greek Theatre; pupils will experience the power of mask work for themselves and explore the ways in which they can be used to create character and story.

ICARUS A Unicorn Production

By Katrin LangeTranslated by Purni MorellDirected by Cressida BrownResource pack written by Catherine Greenwood