The world is full of objects – things we can see and touch. And language is full of words to describe objects. We live surrounded by both objects and the words that denote them. At times, objects even seem to have a life of their own, and a history, so that objects become subjects in their own right. We even hear talk of ‘the tyranny of objects’ – the power they have over our lives; the way they shape the way we think. They influence the way we define who we are by what we own: the car, the house, the gadgets, the clothes.

So objects are powerful things. They can influence the way we think about the world, our values and our beliefs. And, of course, the same object can take on different meanings for different people. The word/object knife has different connotations and associations for a butcher, a surgeon, a schoolboy, a cook or a hunter.

In terms of drama and language learning, objects offer a rich array of possibilities. They can be described; they can be used to stimulate memories, associations and the imagination; they can be transformed into symbols or icons; they can be transformed into something they are not – as when a child uses a saucepan as a helmet; and they can themselves transform us – as when we change our character by wearing a hat, a uniform or a mask. In this chapter we shall offer activities which draw on all these possibilities.