SCHOOLS SHOW

The Tempest & Frankenstein

The Tempest

Prospero, a potent magician lives in exile with his daughter Miranda on an island. Aided by the spirit Arial he conjures a storm to wreck the ship carrying his enemies who are washed up on the island.

Prospero wants justice, Miranda wants a husband, Ariel wants freedom.

Jack Shepherd (one of the UK’s best known character actors and star of TV’s Wycliffe) directed the opening production at Shakespeare’s Globe and has subsequently worked there many times.

Click here for show and booking information

Frankenstein

Mary Shelley’s classic tale is brought to life in this stunning new adaptation. Victor Frankenstein is an ambitious young student who discovers the secret of giving life to inanimate material. He assembles a creature from dead body parts and succeeds in giving it life. Horrified by the result he abandons his creation, leaving it to fend for itself, learn the cruelty of mankind and ultimately exact its terrible revenge.

TEACHERS

THEATRE CAREERS FAIR

PREVIOUS SCHOOLS SHOWS

Torn apart by their families, the Montagues and the Capulets, Romeo and Juliet are forced to fight for their love in a tale of passion, revenge and reconciliation.

Packed into ninety minutes this truly ensemble production will combine imaginative staging, vibrant verse and striking physical imagery to breathe life into the greatest love story ever told.

Click here for the Information pack about the production suitable for Secondary & Primary Schools (541KB)

Click here for the Resources for use in the Primary classroom (256KB)

Click here to download the Show Programme (253KB)

CAPTAIN BRITAIN
Is it a bird?!
Is it a plane?!
No, it’s got to be Captain Britain!

When canteen crusaders Anna and Shiv turn up for detention they expect the usual boring stuff, but this time their antics force a surprise mission of morals, multi-culture and mayhem. The clock’s ticking and they’d rather be elsewhere so just how will they answer the question:

What does it take to be a hero in 21st century Britain?

This winter, Talawa and the New Wolsey Theatre are embarking on a one-off theatre-in-education tour in and around Ipswich schools with Captain Britain: a thought-provoking exploration of multi-culturalism and tolerance in contemporary Britain. Specifically targeting rural schools and suitable for school years 8 and 9, the package available to schools will consist of:

* A peformance of the specially commissioned play, Captain Britain;
* A comprehensive post-show workshop delivered by professional actors and theatre-in-education facilitators;
* A Captain Britain Education Pack with ideas and exercises for follow-up work.

Thanks to subsidy from Arts Council East, we are able to offer the Captain Britain package at the heavily subsidised rate of just £40 per school.

Please note - the tour is fully booked but we are still keen to hear from schools in the region for future projects.

THE TEMPEST by William Shakespeare

Abridged and directed by Ellie Jones
Designed by Becky Hurst

The conjuring of a storm and the shipwreck of a royal party. The imprisonment of a native man and the manipulation of an airy spirit. Plots to murder, comedy drunkards, magical banquets and love at first sight.
A perfect introduction to Shakespeare’s work, The Tempest is one of his most accessible plays for young people. It’s not as bloodthirsty as Macbeth, and not as romantic as Romeo and Juliet, instead the magical island has characters and creatures whose motives are as mysterious as their adventures.

Especially abridged to around 90 minutes in order to fit with ‘school trip’ timing, this truly ensemble production will combine improvised staging, striking physical imagery, direct contact with the audience and original music to create the mysterious and magical world of Shakespeare’s Tempest.

There will be resource packs for primary and secondary teachers and there will be 2 chances for secondary teachers to attend a free twilight INSET session conducted by the director - October 5th at Northgate Arts Centre and October 6th at Sudbury Upper School. Please contact us on 01473 295928 to book a place.

MACBETH
In Autumn 04 our schools production Macbeth was for the first time performed in the Main Theatre and was a sell-out!. The production was supported by a series of workshops for primary schools and two INSET sessions for secondary teachers.
Cut and produced especially for a schools’ audience by director, Mary Swan, the cast of five, backed up with especially shot film footage, presented the play as if it were set in Latin America. The fights were transposed into the movement of Capoeira.

FIELD – A Story Of Ipswich At War
In autumn 2003 The New Wolsey Theatre produced FIELD – a story of Ipswich at war which toured to schools in the region and was presented at the Wolsey Studio from Thursday 23 October to Saturday 1 November.
FIELD tells the remarkable story of soldiers, airmen and civilians in Ipswich during the darkest days of the Second World War, and maps the links we all have with major events in history. The show has been created by New Wolsey Associate Director Mary Swan worked closely with David Jones, Curator of the Ipswich at War Exhibition at Ipswich Museum to create FIELD.
FIELD told of the experience of the fictional character Rose Hinton who lived in Ipswich during the war and worked at Ramsomes, Sims & Jefferies. “Rose is fictional but her experiences and those of the other characters we meet are based on fact. For example, she attends a dance at Bentwaters where The Glen Miller Band perform – this actually happened. Following the success of The New Wolsey's first school's tour, to secondary and primary schools, of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM in Autumn 2001, The New Wolsey presented a brand new show, LIQUIDIZING LIZARDS, in Autumn 2002 created especially for primary schools in collaboration with poet Brian Patten.
Working with popular children's poet Brian Patten, the show brought to life poems from his hugely popular anthologies "Juggling with Gerbils", "Thawing Frozen Frogs" and "Gargling with Jelly"; plus some new poems created especially by the author.

A Midsummer Night's Dream
"A surefire way to guide bright, blossoming minds into the fun and excitement of live theatre. Book early for 2002" – David Henshall, EADT.

"I like the lights on the tree. I like everything. And I am also very proud of you all for working so hard to perform it." Eseleta, aged 9.