« TU SERAS UN HOMME MON FILS » (You will be a man, my son)

First, Marie Blondel, one of the directors of a play written by Thomas Gornet, which the students were going to watch in the evening at the Bateau Feu in Dunkirk, “Tu seras un homme mon fils”, came to Lycée Jean Bart to present the play. She introduced the students to the Compagnie du Dagor, which created the play, and the two actors who play in it, and she explained to them how it was written. Then, two students read an extract from the play and the director got the students to think about the playwright's style, the topics that were dealt with and the links that the students could establish between the extract and their daily lives. Finally, in the evening, the students attended the performance and were able to discuss the play with the playwright and the actors. In the following weeks, the class was divided into 8 groups who created slideshows in English on different topics (the mother's character, the son's character, the set, the costumes, the lights, the music and songs...) and they presented them to each other.

The meeting with the director aroused the students' curiosity before watching the performance. They became aware that theatre is a living art, which deals with topical issues. Many of them said they identified with the son's character and had experienced situations similar to those in the play. They were also able to explore the issue of personal and family crisis in theatre, which is part of their school literature curriculum.