And so I went to the Drum Theatre, to see the culmination of a mouth-watering project that the Theatre Royal Plymouth has been running with local schools.
Year 5/6 pupils from Stoke Damerel Primary School wrote a play for, and performed a play written by, Year 9 students from the neighbouring Community College. And vice versa. “White Out” and “The Day After Tomorrow” were produced by young people from each school, supported throughout by a team of professionals, under the guidance of the Theatre Royal Plymouth.
The final productions, performed to a full Drum house, including an ecstatic Cllr Janet Watkins, Plymouth’s portfolio holder for children and young people – were astounding. The scripts were well crafted and utterly original, sharing the theme of fellow Plymothian Robert Falcon Scott. The performances were dynamic and skilled as we were reminded not to underestimate the under 15’s. Students controlled the ‘off stage’ aspects of the production too. As I arrived at the Drum, I was greeted with a merchandise stall Mackintosh would be proud of, and shown to my seat by polite adolescent ushers.
The writers, Shiona Morton and Emma Spurgin-Hussey, the directors Joe Hancock and Tim Bell and all the teachers cut a proud team during the post-show Q&A, led by Fran King, the project producer. It was clear that they had guided the young people rather than led them, making the shared learning and collective achievement all the more fulfilling. It takes guts to swap the safety of a professional rehearsal space for the disruption of a classroom. But young people and their teachers want new ways to work. School isn’t always the best place to do that. Projects like this can be. The Year 9 lead had just been excluded from school for other transgressions but his commitment to this project meant he hasn’t been permanently. His Headteacher was the face of pride as he took his bow and waved to the audience. His drama teacher was in tears.
The Theatre Royal has unearthed a gem of a project, one that puts young people at the heart of the production process, giving them more than just a sniff of ownership, rather a deeply embedded feeling of creative collaboration and achievement. Teachers and producers were clearly exhausted from a project that started in September and required a great deal of trust in each other. At a time of hacking cuts and educational reform, it is refreshing to see theatres and schools work so closely together to invest time and money in such a way.
Plymouth won’t rest here. Next up in the Drum are some professional companies, but in a few months’ time, the young people return with Feast, a celebration of theatre again professionally guided by directors, designers and producers.
They may be the audiences and theatre makers of tomorrow – other interests and circumstances in their lives might as easily mean that they are not – but they have proven that young people are capable of making excellent theatre for today. This region has the opportunity to learn from a model like this, and invest in young people as producers, inspiring the rest of us as we go.
Nick White is a theatre maker and producer.