"The Wave" – A teaching experiment which went too far
The story is based on a real experiment which had taken place in the USA in 1967, described in the novel “The Wave” in 1981 and turned into a movie in 2008.
Ben Ross, a high school history teacher starts an experiment with the intention of testing whether dictatorship is still possible in modern times by establishing a movement called The Wave.
Rules like “Strength through discipline” or “Strength through community” illustrate how the Nazis were able to take power. More and more students are getting involved; outsiders like Robert Billings become popular by being part of the movement and first time belonging to a community.
Just Laurie Saunders recognizes the possible danger of the experiment and asks to stop the project before it totally gets out of control.
What stays behind are horrified students who have not been aware of the situation realizing that they would have become true Nazis.
The play was staged by only five actors performing different characters in an impressive way.
I was surprised how much passion you can put into a play.
The actors were great and were able to convey the emotions in a way that the audience got driven into the play.
The stage design was quite minimalistic, so it was fascinating to see how you can create different settings using just few boxes.
It helped to focus on the actors but I didn’t like the scenery changes with acapella singing.
I would recommend this theatre play to young adults because they should understand how fast people can get manipulated.
The play does not only have a historical aspect, but also a social one.
It’s an up and down of feelings, it’s gripping and spectacular – you won’t regret watching it.
It’s one of the best plays I have ever seen – it was worth the money spent.
This article is composed of different reviews written by English advanced course students of GN19 and GN20
