Thursday 27 November: Exodus starts after the end of the final examination
Sunday 30 November: Exodus ends for boarders. College closed until 6.30pm, and return by 8.30pm.
Monday 1 December: Day boys and girls return by 8.10am. White Chapel (St Andrew).
Late rising, due to Staff Convention.
8.00pm: Evensong (Preacher: Emma Fawcett, Diocesan Youth Officer. Collection: Peter McVerry Trust, Kilmashogue House). Visitors are welcome to the service.
7.00pm, BSR: Final performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Last year, particularly after the release of the Netflix show ‘Adolescence’, there was much discussion about the behaviour of boys and how they are influenced by social media. As a result, we have created a ‘MANifesto’ focusing on what positive male behaviour might look like. The following was read out by our male prefects in chapel on Friday morning.
Boys and young men are in the spotlight. Misogyny and sexist behaviour are on the rise and there are plenty of influencers out there who peddle a negative version of masculinity as if it were the only way for men to behave. A lot of young women are shunning relationships with men because they are afraid of being mistreated or abused. At the same time, suicide rates are far higher amongst young men than young women because they have a feeling of helplessness and a lack of purpose and direction. A recent survey showed the following:
What does it mean to be a young man in 2025 and do boys at St. Columba’s have to fit in with the prevailing culture? Is there a better way of being a man than some people would want us to believe? And if so, what kind of behaviour do we aspire for our young men to exhibit, even if it flies in the face of the current narrative?
We, the young men of St. Columba’s College, are adopting a MANifesto for what we would like to be known for, a set of principles to which we can aspire and a pledge to which we can be held accountable. It is time to change the narrative and reclaim a healthy vision and version of what it means to be a man.
Here is the pledge:
Boys at St. Columba’s should…
Come on boys…it’s time to step up.
10.00am: Matins (Preacher – the Chaplain; Collection – the Poppy Fund). Visitors are welcome to attend.
After a too-long gap (since The Comedy of Errors in 2011), Shakespeare returns to the Big Schoolroom for this year’s Senior Play production, with a cast of 22 pupils. A Midsummer Night’s Dream will be performed on Thursday 13th, Friday 14th and Saturday 15th November, starting at 7.00pm each day. All parents and their guests are welcome to attend. If you have a choice, seating on Thursday or Friday is likely to be easier than on Saturday.
Mr Clarke and Mr Girdham have directed, assisted by many staff, and outside choreographer Ben Sullivan. Below, a summary of the plot. It’s a classic story of love, misunderstandings, fairy potions and, in this production, disco music.
The story:
We start in the court of Athens, ruled by Duke Theseus (Darren Ulogwara) alongside Queen Hippolyta (Philomena Schneider). Soon they will be married.
Hermia (Alice McCarthy) desperately wants to marry Lysander (Daniel Passmore), but her harsh father Egeus (Johann Diemert) forbids her to, since he wants her to marry Demetrius (Ferdia Murray) instead, and asks Duke Theseus to stop the marriage. Theseus agrees, and tells Hermia that if she will not marry Demetrius she must either become a nun or die. So the two young lovers decide to escape to the wood, away from the laws of the court.
To complicate matters further, Hermia’s old friend Helena (Anna-Cecilia Corti) loves Demetrius. She tells him about Hermia’s plan; he decides to follow Hermia into the wood; Helena decides to follow him. Now all 4 young lovers are ‘wooing’ in the wood.
Meanwhile, a group of workers (the ‘mechanicals’) led by Peter Quince (Grace Koch) assisted by the super-keen Bottom (Jason Otolorin) propose to put on a play to celebrate the upcoming wedding. They are not very good. They choose an entirely inappropriate tragedy about the young lovers Pyramus and Thisbe. Surely the Duke will not choose this as entertainment for his big day? Optimistically, they head into the wood to start preparations and rehearsals.
And meanwhile (again) there is another group in the wood: it is a place of fairies, led by King Oberon (Jack-Francis McKeon). He is angry with Queen Titania (Rebecca Flanagan) because she stole a boy from him to be her attendant. So he tells his fairy servant Puck (Daniel Moran) to play a trick on her – to get some magic juice which Oberon can put on her eyes while asleep so that she will fall in love with the first figure she sees when she wakes up.
With all those characters in the wood at the same time, what could possibly go wrong?
Of course, this is a comedy. So everything turns out well in the end. And of course, it ends in a dance.
Shakespeare Society productions at the College were initiated by former English teacher Mr John Fanagan in 1996. We are delighted to return to the tradition almost 30 years later, after a 14-year break.
Previous productions:
2011 The Comedy of Errors (directors Mr Julian Girdham & Mr Ronan Swift)
2006 Twelfth Night (Mr John Fanagan & Mr Julian Girdham)
2004 As You Like It (Mr John Fanagan & Mr Julian Girdham)
2002 A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Mr John Fanagan)
2000 The Comedy of Errors (Mr John Fanagan & Warden Tim Macey)
1998 The Merchant of Venice (Mr John Fanagan & Warden Tim Macey)
1996 Twelfth Night (Mr John Fanagan & Warden Tim Macey)
Music:
Felix Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Mama Cass: Dream a Little Dream of Me.
Eurythmics: Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).
The Bee Gees: Night Fever.
Earth, Wind and Fire: Boogie Wonderland.
