COSTUMES worn in a famous television advertisement based on a scene from the Steve McQueen classic The Great Escape will be used in a Hawkesdale P12 College school production.
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Melbourne playwright Rosemary Johns and choreographer Carolyn Bock will co-direct the production, which has the first of three showings on Wednesday.
Johns wrote the play, The White Mouse, which is based on the inspiring story of Nancy Wake. During World War II, Nancy Wake was a French Resistance fighter, leading attacks on German installations and finding ways through enemy checkpoints. She managed to elude German forces who had placed a five million-franc bounty on her head.
Johns said sourcing costume German uniforms was a difficult task because not many were in circulation.
The ones to be used in the play were found in Melbourne and were the same ones used for the Shell television advertisement that paid homage to the motorbike scene in the classic Hollywood film The Great Escape.
The high-profile costumes add even more lustre to a production that has build plenty of momentum.
The show will include a cast of more than 100 students from prep through to Year 12.
Johns said the story of Nancy Wake was an inspiring tale for the school to be involved in.
“Over the course of the show we have nine girls playing Nancy at different stages of her life,” Johns said.
“Nancy’s story is so amazing, it is a wonderful lesson of what can be achieved. Nancy Wake is very well known to an older generation, so we hope by telling her extraordinary story it will bring it to life for everyone.”
Johns and Bock have been coming to Hawkesdale to direct the school’s biannual productions since 2009.
Bock praised the school for its commitment.
“We have had five weeks of practice, normally for something like this we need a lot more time,” Bock said.
“But the school and the students are so keen and supportive so we can get everything done in an intensive five-week block.”
The school hall will be the venue for the show. The first show is a matinee on Wednesday, September 7 at 2pm. Night-time shows will follow on the Thursday and Friday at 7.30pm. Tickets are available from Trybooking or the school.
