Last Tuesday all boys in Years 7, 8 and 9 were fortunate enough to see a production called “The Teenage Alchemist”. This production was performed by the education team from Camp Quality and was outstanding.

Camp Quality is the children’s cancer charity and while there was certainly many cancer references in the play, the messages within the production were invaluable for the boys as they move along their path of developing into young men. Issues such as resilience, positive thinking, self-image, fear, hope and courage were all addressed. The play encouraged the boys to make positive life choices and keep things in perspective.

The way the story of Joshua and Xanthe was told was quite unique. It was set in cyber-space through a chat room – the place where Joshua and Xanthe first met. While they also met in real life in the play, the majority of their interaction was across the Internet. This helped ensure that the focus was on what the characters were saying with little need for props.

The production was very funny at times while at other moments incredibly emotive. There is no doubt that the experience for the boys was a roller-coaster of emotions which all culminated in a positive message for them to take away.

The two actors then spent considerable time answering questions that many of the boys had. The questions were insightful and illustrated how much the boys had taken in and learned from the production. With one in two men in Australia being diagnosed with cancer before they turn 85, there is no doubt that the production was an excellent experience for the boys who we hope can take the positive messages from it.

The catch cry of Camp Quality is “Laughter is the Best Medicine”. This was particularly focused on at the end of the production and ensured that the boys left with a positive approach to life and dealing with the many challenges that it throws at us.

A huge thank you to the actors Rachel and Paul. They were approachable for the boys and did a magnificent job in passing on all the wonderful messages of the play to three different year groups in one morning. It was obvious from the boys focus throughout the production and interest during question time that they had got a huge amount from the experience.