Bringing The Odyssey to Play on Stage
Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey has finally arrived in cinemas, introducing a whole new audience to one of the oldest stories ever told. While his version brings Homer's epic to the big screen, our Upper Primary students spent the first semester of 2026 bringing it to life on stage.
Each year, our term-based drama classes work towards an original end of semester production. It's a chance for students to develop their acting skills while experiencing the excitement of rehearsing and performing a complete show for family and friends. Choosing the right story is always one of the most enjoyable parts of the process, and this year The Odyssey felt like the perfect fit.
A Journey Told Across Five Classes
Rather than asking every class to perform the same play, we divided Odysseus' famous journey into five separate adventures. Each class became responsible for one chapter of the story, allowing students to explore a different world, meet new characters and discover another obstacle standing between Odysseus and his home in Ithaca.
Some students encountered the fearsome Cyclops. Others met the witch Circe or found themselves navigating the dangers of Scylla and Charybdis or even the Underworld itself. The final classes brought Odysseus home to Ithaca for his long-awaited reunion and final challenge.
Although each production stood on its own, together they formed a complete retelling of one of history's greatest adventures.
Why Tell Stories That Have Lasted Thousands of Years?
Stories like The Odyssey have survived millennia for a reason.
At its heart, this isn't simply a tale about monsters and mythical creatures, but a deeply human journey about perseverance, courage, loyalty and finding your way home after facing seemingly impossible challenges. Those ideas remain just as meaningful today as they were when Homer first shared them thousands of years ago.
Introducing young people to these stories helps them discover that great storytelling isn't limited by time. The books, films and television shows they enjoy today all owe something to classics like The Odyssey. Whether they realise it or not, many of the heroes, adventures and fantasy worlds they love have their roots in Homer's epic.
Making a Classic Accessible
Of course, a story written nearly three thousand years ago isn't always the easiest place for Grade 3-6 students to begin.
Our adaptation from our resident playwright, Harry Fritsch, focused on preserving the heart of the story while making it engaging and accessible for students in Years 3 to 6. The language was simplified without losing the excitement of the original adventure. Characters were given plenty of opportunities for humour, teamwork and memorable performances, while each scene was carefully shaped to suit the age and confidence of the performers.
The result was a production that introduced students to an important piece of literature while still feeling playful, energetic and fun to rehearse.
More Than Learning Lines
Productions like these are about far more than memorising dialogue. As students rehearsed, they learned how to work together, solve problems creatively and support one another on stage. They explored larger-than-life characters, experimented with movement and voice, and discovered how stories can come alive through performance.
By the time performance day arrived, they had become part of a story that has captivated audiences for thousands of years.
Looking Ahead
Every first semester brings a new production and a new opportunity to introduce our students to a different world through theatre.
This year, that world happened to be ancient Greece. And for our second semester this year, our Brisbane term-based drama students will be working on crafting their original scripts, guided by our team of experienced playwrights and educators.
Whether families are heading to the cinema to see Christopher Nolan's interpretation or remembering our own performances from earlier in the year, we're proud that our Upper Primary students had the opportunity to experience The Odyssey in a way that was creative, accessible and uniquely their own. After all, some stories never stop being timeless.