School edition: The Lighthouse Keeper’s Wife

Play is set on Robben Island in 1900, inhabited by lepers (mental asylum), a lighthouse keeper and his lonely wife. Even Plaatjes (the lighthouse keeper) actually existed. For Stella, the wife of the title, the island is a prison, and her jealous husband her jailer. The play explores the effects of loneliness on these three main characters.

The obvious thing to do with this play is to read it as a text, just as you would if it were a short story or a novel. But it holds other possibilities as well.• It could be read aloud, with four learners taking the different roles while the rest of the class follow along in their books as the audience, or the class could be divided into groups of four to do the play reading in groups so that everyone gets a chance to read aloud.• It could even be staged, with auditions to choose the best cast, who will learn their parts by heart and perform for a wider audience than their classmates, with costumes and props on a set, just as the playwrightintended.• The play could also be the source of other activities in the classroom such as improvisation, role play and writing.Drama offers the possibility of enjoyment along with a growth in empathy, teamwork and language skills. We hope that this play will serve you in all those ways.