Rural touring theatre company New Perspectives and Nottingham Academy have teamed up for a project inspired by Athol Fugard’s Playland.
New Perspectives is taking the play, which “provokes debate around intolerance and political extremism in the run-up to the 2015 General Election”, on a UK tour.
Twenty young people from Nottingham Academy will take part in a six-week writing and performance project. It will culminate in a performance presented to more than 200 year nine pupils who will also be involved in a workshop.
The project has already begun, with pupils attending the first rehearsal day and meeting actors David Carr and Ben Cutler, director Jack McNamara, designer Hyemi Shin, lighting designer Azusa Ono and sound designer Adam McCready.
New Perspectives staff introduced the young writers to elements of the production process to help their decision-making in shaping and writing a piece in response to Playland. It will be performed on Wednesday 4 March to an audience of primary schoolchildren.
New Perspectives executive director Sally Anne Tye said, “Playland presents a rich source of inspiration to create a project involving young people across three key stages.
“Through this pilot we’re hoping to develop a model we can link to our touring productions to inspire creativity and collaborate with a wide range of partners, developing imaginative projects that offer long-term benefits.”
David Tungate, Nottingham Academy principal, added, “we’re thrilled to be working with such an ambitious theatre company on a playwright as powerful as Fugard. It’s important that our pupils have a relationship with global politics and they’re already sensitively engaging with the play's post-apartheid themes.
“We highly value the support of local organisations like New Perspectives to help provide extended opportunities for our young people at the Nottingham Academy.
”This experience will help the 20 pupils involved to realise their personal potential and develop their creative skills.”