This qualitative study located in a critical interpretivist paradigm focused on what are the factors that contribute to high learner performance at a public school in South Africa. The data was produced via interviews with the participants as well as observations of various school activities and documents. Artistic licence was used and the data presented in a three act play. The literature reviewed focussed on leadership as this aspect was the recurring theme that emerged in the literature on learner performance. A triptych theoretical approach (Marx, Bourdieu, Bronfenbrenner) underpinned this study. The key finding was the fetish for excellence with principal presence as a factor that plays a major role on successful learner performance.