A short play for use in schools. The subject refers to two soldiers from Australia who fought in the Gallipoli campaign of the First World War. It is most suitable for Anzac Day.
Short Drama for Primary Schools
GALLIPOLI ROSE
Background:-
This short drama is presented with minimal set and props. There are 4 speaking roles. The 2 soldiers can be dressed in costumes, but these could be stylized, using slouch hats. All parts can be read if required.
All scenes can begin and end with actors frozen in position on the stage. Between scenes, backstage hands will move sets and props into place.
At the end of the drama, the Ode of Remembrance can be said.
Cross-Curricular Activities:-
There is the opportunity for cross-curricular links with researching the stories of Gallipoli; making maps of the area; reading letters and reminiscences from soldiers, both ANZACS and Turks; discovering the story of the great Turkish commanding officer, Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk—Father of the Turks); copies of paintings, such as The Beach at ANZAC, by Frank Crozier, 1919;
Characters:-
BEN: Brother
LISA: Friend
PAT: Ben’s Great, Great Grandfather
ERIC: Ben’s Great, Great Uncle (Pat’s brother)]
Scene 1
(Set: Chairs and table. Props: Two boxes, papers, small photo album, packet of seeds, sprig of rosemary, letter, rolled up socks)
Lisa: What are you doing up here Ben?
Ben: Mum wants me to clear out the space in the attic.
Lisa: Again? I thought you did that last Christmas…and you made a little bit of pocket money from it too.
Ben: Well last time, Mum didn’t really check what I’d done and I sort of just pushed things around.
Lisa: So you’ve been found out?
Ben: Yeah. I’ve been told to do it properly this time. Do you want to help?
Lisa: What do I get out of it?
Ben: If we find anything interesting, like old clothes or magazines, you can keep them for your art projects.
Lisa: You better be telling the truth. Okay…I get first dibs on those. What do you want me to do?
Ben: Start looking through that box. It belonged to my Grandmother. When she died, they cleared the house out and we just stored all her papers, photos and things in the attic. Mum said she was too sad to look through them. They’ve been gathering dust here forever.
Lisa: And what’s in this box?
Ben: That belonged to Grannie too. I think this is mostly my Great, Great Grandfather’s stuff though. Grannie kept lots of old keepsakes. I don’t know why she bothered.
Lisa: It’s pretty dusty.
Ben: Hey Lisa, watch out for spiders. (He throws a pair of socks at her)
Lisa: Do that again and I won’t help you. (She opens the box)
Ben: There’s a lot of old letters and cards in this box. Have you found anything?
Lisa: Only some pressed flowers and a little bag of seeds. They were in this letter. The paper is tissue thin. Why do you think they kept them?
Ben: Give me a look. (Lisa passes him a small scrapbook/photo album. He flicks through the pages). This letter is from my Great, Great Grandfather’s brother.
Lisa: I’m confused. Explain the Great, Great, Great, Great….you know what I’m saying.
Ben: Yeah. Well, Pat wasn’t my Grandfather. He was my Grandfather’s Grandfather…Oh, never mind. It’s too hard to explain. He was born a long time ago and I never met him.
Lisa: So did he write the letter?
Ben: No. It’s from his brother Eric, and he’s writing from the battlefields in Gallipoli to his wife, Eleanor.
Lisa: I’ve heard of Gallipoli. That’s in Turkey.
Ben: It’s amazing that these seeds have survived all this time. They’re so old, I wonder if they’d still grow?
Lisa: That’s a bit strange. I thought Gallipoli was all about fighting and killing. What’s flowers got to do with it?
(Ben and Lisa freeze and then move to back, right side of stage area. Two soldiers, Pat and Eric move to front of stage and sit on upturned boxes. Eric is writing a letter.)
Scene 2
(Set: Rustic seats Props: Letter, seeds, sprig of rosemary)
Pat: I’m so tired of all this waiting, and I’m seasick too.
Eric: At least the barrage of gunfire from the howitzers and field guns has stopped, but this silence is even worse. I feel as if a great adventure is about to begin and I am standing on the brink.
Pat: Well brother, it’s good to see you writing home. Hopefully, it won’t be long before we can join forces with those brave men from Britain, Scotland, and Ireland. I hear that there are even soldiers from France and India to fight with us.
Eric: And our friends across the waters, New Zealand have gathered to fight the Turks.
Ben: But we Australians shall show ourselves as a great nation as we begin the landing here on Gallipoli.
Eric: I’m so proud that we’ve been chosen to lead the way, with the New Zealand Infantry Brigade to follow. The Generals are sending us in at dawn, so I’m writing to my Eleanor. (Eric begins to write and reads it aloud.) Dear Eleanor, We will be landing soon, but it’s a strange country. I had thought that I’d be fighting, fairly and squarely with our enemy on the beach, but it seems that as we advance up the gully we’ll be exposed to the snipers’ bullets.
Pat: Tell Annie, your sister and my dear wife that when this battle is over, I’ll not go fighting again. I’d thought that this was going to be the battle that made me a hero, but now I feel ashamed to admit that I’m frightened. It’s not the lack of food or drink or the cold, or even the dysentery, the flies, and the horrors, but the thought that my enemy is probably feeling the same fears that I am. It makes me question the reason I am here.
Eric: But we’ll return home and pick up our lives again after this battle. Surely there’ll be medals and decorations for our bravery?
Pat: But if the worst should happen and we don’t return, we have nothing to give our wives.
Eric: We do have something. Look at these.
Pat: What are they?
Eric: These are seeds gathered from the flowers that grow wild in these parts. I’ve heard them called the Gallipoli Rose and these are sprigs of the herb Rosemary, a symbol of remembrance from ancient times.
Pat: Then we’ll send these home to be scattered around our gardens as a symbol of peace and remembrance. Come Eric, finish your letter and slip these seeds into its fold, and then pull the blanket around yourself. We need sleep. Dawn is near.
(Pat and Eric freeze and then move to the back of stage, left side. Ben and Lisa return. Ben holds the letter. Lisa holds the packet of seeds and sprig of rosemary.)
Scene 3
(Set: Chairs and table. Props: Two boxes, papers, small photo album, packet of seeds, sprig of rosemary, letter, rolled up socks)
Lisa: Did Pat and Eric return from Gallipoli?
Ben: Pat did, but Eric died on the battlefield and was one of many who were not evacuated, but at least his letter survived and these pressed flowers, herbs and seeds.
Lisa: Why don’t we plant the seeds then? They keep saying “Lest we forget” at the Gallipoli services, so I reckon it’s time for us to show that we haven’t forgotten.
Ben: Well then, let’s do it. We can remember that our ANZACS were willing to sacrifice their lives for their country. And then…
Lisa: And then…
Ben: And then… we better finish cleaning, or we’ll be here forever. (Ben laughs. Lisa throws the socks at him and laughs too)
Possibly read at the end of the Play:
Ode of Remembrance
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
