Heartfelt letter brings Kinky Boots cast to high school sports carnival
Updated
When Mark Jessup, the principal of Reservoir High School in Melbourne saw the musical Kinky Boots, he knew its messages of tolerance, acceptance and gender diversity would hit home for his 650 students.
The film turned stage production is based on the true story of an English shoe factory which, facing financial ruin, saves itself by producing thigh-high boots for drag queens in need of a stronger heel.
"Our kids, about six years ago, were getting a bit tired of the putdowns that people were saying in classrooms and in the yard," says Mr Jessup.
"The table's gay, this is gay, whatever's gay — they told us they didn't want this to be part of the vernacular."
Seeking advice, the school approached the Human Rights Commission and the Safe Schools Coalition for support.
According to Mr Jessup, the word "gay" is no longer used in a pejorative manner anywhere in the school.
Introducing a culture of tolerance and acceptance — in both word and deed — has had a profound impact on life inside Reservoir High, according to Year 11 student Lara.
"You're allowed to have opinions, but we ask you to try and not be mean," she says. "Be respectful about what you say to others."
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Reservoir High School has 650 students across 65 nationalities. (ABC RN: Jeremy Story Carter)
Reservoir High has students from 65 different cultural backgrounds — including first and second generation migrants, often from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
For many such families, the cost of a ticket to a professional musical would be prohibitive.
Recognising this, Mr Jessup took matters into his own hands, writing a letter to Kinky Boots star Callum Francis.
"I get a lot of letters," Francis says, "but [Mark Jessup's] love for the show, and his love for the school, stood out."
Francis's character — the drag queen Lola — is the one who helps the shoemakers retool their factory, and their attitudes.
As a result of the letter, 40 students attended a performance of Kinky Boots. For many it was their first experience of professional theatre.
And the next morning, the Kinky Boots cast arrived at the school's annual Fair Go Sports Day — a Human Rights Commission initiative.
The Kinky Boots cast were so competitive that Francis required physiotherapy after taking part in a number of events.
Performers and students alike spoke at the official opening; balloons were released, races were run, and the result was a joyous, rainbow-coloured communion.
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The Fair Go Sports Day is a Human Rights Commission initiative. (ABC RN: Jeremy Story Carter)
Tien, Reservoir High's 2017 school captain, celebrated by wearing a Mexican sombrero, a Hawaiian grass skirt and black patent leather high heels.
"Personally, I'll try to make the school even more friendly than it already is," Tien says. "Everyone in the school has the right to be who they are."
Paying tribute to the occasion, Francis drew comparisons between the message of the musical and Reservoir High's culture of acceptance, reminding students of an Oscar Wilde quote: "Be yourself — everyone else is already taken."
Topics: secondary-schools, opera-and-musical-theatre, reservoir-3073
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