Young theatre stars from Blacon have been entertaining more than 1,000 of their peers in a school tour of their newly created show.
Rewind Youth Theatre, delivered by Theatre in the Quarter and Cheshire Dance, have created a new piece of theatre entitled Road To Rio which tells the story of a young boy called Mario who is passionate that his young dance troupe of boys gets to perform at the Olympic opening ceremony at Rio.
The children, drawn from all six schools in Blacon, created the storyline and lyrics for the piece which premiered at the Blacon Festival on Saturday.
The piece has been received exceptionally well, with audiences commenting on the high quality of the performances. It was directed by Michael Beigel and Lauren Tucker with music by Matt Baker.
Artistic director of Theatre in the Quarter Matt Baker said: “I cannot tell you how proud we are of these young people; their singing, dancing and acting skills have developed incredibly since we began the theatre company just over a year ago.
“The icing on the cake has been the opportunity, made possible by the Blacon Education Village, for the children to tour their piece to thousands of young people the same age across their neighbourhood. They have really been acting like a truly professional theatre company on tour.”
Headteacher at Dee Point Primary School and chair of the Education Village Dave Williams said: “This project is clearly giving aspirational opportunities for the performers and also for the large audiences who are able to see their work. You can literally hear a pin drop as the performances take place, showing clearly that the young actors are captivating their audiences from the beginning to the end of the play.
“The piece has very strong messages of courage, fairness, working as a team, good winning over evil, and simply being the best that you can be.”
Company manager Julie Elston said: “It is just wonderful to see these young people grow in confidence every time they perform. It is not easy performing in front of hundreds of your school friends, but these young people have danced, acted and sung their hearts out on this tour!”
Rewind is one of three youth theatres delivered by Theatre in the Quarter around the city, but this one is targeted specifically at the young people in Blacon and enjoys a strong partnership with Cheshire Dance who have offered the opportunity for the young people to develop dance skills alongside their acting, singing and devising work.
Road to Rio has been performed at St Mary’s Creative Space in the city centre, in Blacon High School as part of the annual Blacon Awards Ceremony and in each of the primary schools in Blacon; St Theresa’s RC Primary School, The Arches Community Primary School, JH Godwin Primary School, Dee Point Primary School and Highfield Community Primary School. Rewind will continue with a new project in September.
Matt Baker concluded: “We are very grateful for the support given to us by Avenue Services and the local councillors for Blacon. We are also exceptionally grateful for the support we receive from the Blacon Education Village, ensuring that there is real weight behind the project. This is something very exciting for Blacon and the young people have certainly risen to the occasion.”
