Primary school teaching veteran Ben Knight shatters Mum-and-Dad fairytales in The Parent/Teacher Interview. He looks like a man parents can trust. Tall, with his red hair and ready smile, he can also spell. The only thing they need fear is when he gives his report on them.
It’s a world where the kids are the least of his troubles.
After 10 years in the system, Knight is an expert not just on literacy and the early years. He’s also developed a theory about parent-types. Knight presents three types of child-owners: Bogans, Hippies, and Helicopters. Each make his life hell.
Why they choose the names they do is a wonder of linguistic diversity no one familiar with the English language could fail to get headaches from. Phonetic spellings of Jessica (Gesseca), hyphenations gone wild (Nebula-Ray), to pop-culture appropriations (Holden and Shiraz) and hippie names which resemble a spice rack instead of a species (Sage and Saffron) leave teachers scratching their heads.
Knight dazzles with his honesty and point-blank delivery — he is a master at leading a room. The show incorporates slides, guitar, singalongs, and direct address. Plus he does a mean Q&A.
This teacher gives a Fail to society, with its left-brain centric obsession with over-achievement. His message is that kids need to ‘be kids’. To fall over, make mistakes and simply enjoy learning.
Seize hold of one of his many killer musings on ‘why dip-shit parents keep popping out kids?!’ the next time you are in the 40kms zone at a school crossing…and feel for the poor Prof. at the front of the room!
This show will have you laughing til long past the bell has rung.
– Sarah
Sarah W. is a dance-trained theatre lover with a flair for the bold and non-traditional performance platforms. On the street or in the box seat, she looks for quality works that push the envelope.
The Parent/Teacher Interview runs 11-23 April, 7pm (50 mins) at The European Bier Cafe. Purchase tickets now.
The venue is not accessible.
Read The Plus Ones’ guide to MICF 2017, and visit often to see all our reviews.
