The Journey
Year 10 Drama students performing at the Norwich Arts Centre in Feb 2019
Twenty Year 10 Drama students at Hellesdon High School were commissioned with the project of creating a performance or a whole-school assembly to mark Remembrance day in 2018. They began the creative process by bringing in a range of stimuli that explored the theme of war. The students then produced a range of inspirational resources, including poetry, facts, images, spanning a range of wars throughout time.
What became clear in the devising process was that the students wanted to create a piece that highlighted the fact that war was not a thing of the past and that, for many people, suffering through violence is very much still a daily experience.
The students chose to create a piece of political theatre, which would be relevant to their audience of peer and that would address some of the issues that are discussed at school and by current media outlets. Class discussion quickly turned to Brexit, asylum seekers and Britain’s global position. After reading a true story on Amnesty International’s website, the Year 10 students wanted to use this terrifying journey to a better life as the foundation of their piece.
Students developed the practical performance in a physical, choric ensemble style, using a map of the journey Syrian refugees commonly make to reach Munich, Germany. They brought the route to life on stage, using a length of red fabric which symbolically established the tents, borders, boats and other modes of transport typically taken to reach safety. To link the narrative to the physical performance, the group chose a music track titled Lampedusa by Toumani Diabate and Sidiki - a beautiful and moving piece linking East to West.
Above is a video recording of one of the drama studio rehearsals, which was shared with the Norfolk Schools of Sanctuary team. The students were subsequently asked to perform at the Norwich Arts Centre for the Norwich City of Sanctuary’s Annual Celebration in February 2019. Amongst the positive feedback received on the moving nature of their piece were the comments of the keynote speaker, who said to the audience, through tears …”that was my story, that was the journey I took. I can’t believe that this is being taught in schools. It brings me hope.”
Special thanks to Miss Kerry Stanley, Head of Performing Arts at Hellesdon High School.
