Chrysalids

Introduction

The play of 'The Chrysalids' is based on the novel by one of Britain's best-known writers of science fiction, John Wyndham. Rather than setting his stories far out in deep space and peopling them with alien monsters, Wyndham makes his readers question assumptions about the stability and normality of life as we already know it. He does this by presenting characters that are recognisable but changes the context into one that is, in some way, extraordinary. 'The Chrysalids' is set in a world that has survived a huge catastrophe, a holocaust. In this new world people are divided into those deemed physically 'perfect' and those who are not. Imperfect babies are taken across the border of this new society to be looked after by the Fringe people. The story focuses on a group of young people who discover they have the power to communicate telepathically; if their power is discovered they too would be banished.

David Harrower's adaptation of this disturbing vision of the future is timely and powerful. The concept of genetic engineering has sparked international debates about the advantages and dangers of creating genetically modified food, while the technology to offer parents the right not only to know the sex of their unborn children but actually to choose their preferred sex has added a personal and often intensely emotional angle to the dilemma. Mice, frogs and sheep have already been cloned to much public disquiet and some scientists claim to be ready and able to create human babies from the 'best' cells available making them immune to a range of diseases and genetic disorders.

The issues that underlie 'The Chrysalids', its moving if unsettling narrative, and the pace and skill of David Harrower's dramatisation make the play suitable for study across Key Stages 3 and 4.

Activities devised by Jan and Rick Holroyd and Chris Lambert, with Andy Kempe.