The Writer and The Writers Brother

In recent months, the school has had to deal with several losses which has had a great effect on us and the student body surrounding us. As a result, the decision has been made to remove the story of The Pillowman, which includes young suicides, from our version of the play. It will be renamed after another story in The Pillowman, called "The Writer and The Writers Brother".
This is not an easy decision to make. The story of the Pillowman is integral to understanding key themes of the play as well as actions and feelings of the characters. It is used not only as a story which Katurian tells his brother and shows a deeper affection between the two characters, but it impacts on Tupolski feelings of his sons death, on the atmosphere of the ending of the play, and of our final thoughts of the play and of Michal (who perhaps will not always be understood for who he is).
It is sad, and the worry is that the story will not be communicated in the way that it was intended, but it was the right decision to be made. The younger students may miss the wider message of the play beyond the suicide, or they may understand and still feel upset by it. It is better to make sure that students viewing the play are safe and unhurt rather than saving the original play and not compromise, at their expense.

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