Middle School Production

The Time Machine

This year’s Middle School Production found its origins in the mind of creative genius H.G. Wells – The Time Machine.

The story sees H.G. (played with superb vivacity and conviction by Year 8 student Thomas Klebanowski) relocating from London to New York to be amongst other influential inventors such as Nikoli Tesla and Thomas Edison. He invites his circle of friends (characterized with much vim and panache by Year 7’s Frank Roodenburg, Kamran Vohra, Lachlan Barnes, and James Lyster) to meet at his Upper East Side abode, where he reveals to them his newest invention – the Time Machine.

Soon after, he takes an exciting but often confusing journey into the future, meeting up with 1956 rock ‘n’ rolling teenagers, Lucas Andreopoulos (Year 7) and Lachlan Millard (Year 8), Charles Manson (Year 7’s Dante Tassone) and his ‘Family’ on their way to a ‘Love In’ in 1968, and some social media crazed teens experiencing 2020’s Covid-19 lockdown. Eventually, he lands thousands of years into the future hoping to find the utopian world he envisaged. Instead, he discovers humanity has regressed into two races, the mild and gentle Eloi and the cannibalistic Morlocks. Aided by Weena, a young Eloi he saves from drowning, George must discover the whereabouts of his stolen Time Machine so he may return to his own era unscathed.

Both acting and dancing rehearsals for the show commenced back in early May, involving a group of young and eager students from both Camberwell Grammar and Canterbury Girls’ Secondary College. The script evolved to include dance sequences representing each time frame in which George found himself. Seal’s Crazy is also featured to depict the fight sequence between the Eloi and Morlocks which led to the latter’s domination. Sunday morning dance rehearsals became a time of much hilarity and fun, led enthusiastically by Andy Howitt, who also choreographed 2021’s The Great Gatsby.

The show additionally offered opportunities for past Middle School actors to become involved behind the scenes, with Ravin Desai (Year 11) assembling the visually stunning time travel sequences and Show Calling the performances and Raphael Champion (Year 10), Tommy Auwardt (Year 10) and Nathan Bosmans (Year 10) Stage Managing the backstage crew and leading the warmups for the cast. Ms Tara Suri, from the Weickhardt Library, designed the superb soundscapes and special effects which helped create the atmosphere of the show so evocatively, and the splendid set and costumes were designed by the ever-accomplished Mr Mark Wager and Mrs Jennifer Bennie respectively.

The Time Machine was a delight to direct because of the incredible dedication and talent of its young cast, and was definitely one of the most fun shows to rehearse. In the words of H.G. Wells, ‘I’ve had the most amazing time!’

Mrs Penelope Wood

Director