Those Who Can’t

A staffroom full of teachers who behave as badly the children they're supposed to be educating.

Every day, in homes across the country, young people fumble for the alarm-clock, stumble into the same clothes they wore yesterday, and go to school. For hours they endure boredom, bullies, and brats. Then, for the lucky ones, it's home-time. For the less fortunate, it's a forced march to the sports fields. And then it's home to hours and hours of tedious homework. Welcome to the life of a high-school teacher.

Those Who Can’t takes you into a little known world: the staff-room of an elite but dysfunctional private school, where the playground and staffroom are hard to tell apart, and the grown-ups are as mature as 12-year-olds.

Those Who Can’t is produced by Quizzical Pictures, created by Tom Eaton and Alan Committie, written by Tom Eaton and is directed by Tim Greene.

Tom Eaton is a South African novelist, satirist and screenwriter. Eaton rose to prominence as a humorous columnist for the Mail&Guardian, while his 2005 spoof novel 'The De Villiers Code' became a national bestseller. Eaton has written for film and television, most notably the 2007 docudrama 'More Than Just A Game' and the award-winning SABC2 travel documentary 'Shoreline'. He is also the co-founder and head writer of groundbreaking satire website Hayibo.com.

Alan Committie is one of South Africa's leading comics. This multiple award winning performer is a character comedian, stand-up comic, actor, director, writer, producer, Master of Ceremony and even a fully qualified high school teacher. He freelances around the country and is best known for his comic one man shows: Stressed to Kill, One Man, One Remote!, TV, The and II , Titanic on Ice and Dick and Di . 

Tim Greene is an award winning director and writer of film and television.  His feature films ‘A Boy called Twist’ and ‘Skeem’ have been seen around the world. His local television directing includes Class Act Reality Competition, The Lab, Tsha Tsha, Zero Tolerance and Hard Copy.

Those Who Can’t is shot on location at Parktown Boys High

Episode Breakdowns

Episode 1:

The previous headmaster is in prison in Thailand, following a scandal that has gone viral on the internet. The new head master is coming and deputy head, Victor is anxious he will be side-lined by his nemesis the secretary, Marlene. Ezekiel Dlamini arrives and reveals himself to be a charming leader, but one who dodges responsibility. He meets his new staff, as Victor and Marlene continue jostling for power. Guest Appearance: Terence Bridgett as NEC

Episode 2:

The previous headmaster has embezzled and lost a huge chunk of the school's money. New headmaster Ezekiel doesn't want the loss to become a public scandal, and sets to work trying to cut costs and raise money without going to the parents or Board. The staff all has ideas of their own for cutting corners and raising funds.

Episode 3:

School is out early today as the staff is gathering for their quarterly Progress Report Day, on which they each give presentations on teaching methods and social relevance. The Progress Report Day reveals some expected and unexpected results for the day.

Episode 4:

Guidance counsellor Desiree is doing aptitude tests with Matrics, and starts having doubts about her own career choices.  Two new student teachers settle into the School and Woody falls madly in love with one of them.

Episode 5:

Sylvia has managed to persuade her hero, creativity expert and education consultant Alan Chatz, to come to the school for the day.  Alan wows the staff with his energy and jargon. However, Sylvia knows his work better than he does, and starts seeing chinks in his armor. Ezekiel also smells a rat: as a master of jargon himself, they confront a Alan on his charade.  Guest Appearance: Alan Committie as Alan Chatz

Episode 6:

Its exams time and  it should be good time for Woody, with a low work load and lots of peace and quiet, but he fears that his Geography class is cheating as they've all got A's. He confided in Sylvia and asks her to help him find the guilty pupils.  The MEC of education is coming to revue Ezekiel's first term in charge. He is confident it will go well, until he realises that it's been anything but smooth. Guest Appearance: Terence Bridgett as NEC 

Name: Kate Normington

Character: Guidance Counsellor

Short Bio: She is a dynamic speech & drama graduate from WITS. She won an FNB VITA Award for excellence in Comedy and Fleur du Cap Award for Best actress for her role as Sister Mary Amnesia in “Nunsense”. Productions include Joanna in “Sweeney Todd” & Niki in “Sweet Charity”. Television includes, The Res, Scandal, Hard Copy, The Lab, Laugh Out Loud scam team!