IF
THESE
WALLS
COULD
TALK
WEDNESDAY 18TH MARCH 2015
THURSDAY 19TH MARCH 2015
IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK
A devised work between the Empire Theatre Creative Learning Department and All Saints Catholic School, with St Joseph the Worker Primary School, St Lawrence’s Primary School, St Marie’s Primary School, St Michael and All Angels Primary School and St Peter and St Paul’s Primary School. SYNOPSIS – IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK A group of students are taken on a school trip to an old theatre. Once inside they begin to discover the history and secrets of the building. If walls could talk uses the Empire Theatre to bring alive key moments in history from 1860’s to 2000’s. The project has involved students from a number of different schools each one has been allocated a different era of time and through the musical theatre skills of acting, singing and dancing that have created their individual sections. St Marie’s (Early 1880s) It’s the 1800’s the second Industrial Revolution with factories, mass production, steel, iron and Steam Trains!! St Marie’s have been focusing on Britain’s shift from largely handmade trade to the rise of the Steam Train and machinery thanks to the work of inventors such as George Stephenson who was considered ‘the father of the railways’. Our focus on locomotion linked us with the train racing musical ‘Starlight Express’. An original remastering of one of the musical’s hits Rolling Stock alongside physical theatre, dancing and singing present significant historical inventions with a modern day twist! All Saints BTEC group (1830s-‐ late 1800s) The late 1800s see the move for ‘Votes For Women’ the Suffragists and the Suffragettes. A selection of All Saints BTEC Drama performers have been exploring women’s rights, the Pankhursts, Millicent Fawset as well as the iconic Epsom Derby and Emily Davidson. The musicals linked with this period of time include ‘Mary Poppins’ and the satirical musical ‘Oh What a Lovely War’. Through discussions and workshops the group have taken facts, speeches, characters and songs and created an amalgamation of comedy and realism to highlight equality and human rights. All Saints Boys (1914) 1914-‐1918 sees Britain under the siege of World War One. Using physical theatre, satire, movement and clowning boys from years 7-‐9 at All Saints Catholic High School explore the wars historic impact on our lives today. There are many perspectives on war through theatre and this group reflects three in particular; a soldiers scene from Joan Littlewoods ‘Oh What a Lovely War’, the famous Christmas Truce between the English and the Germans on No Mans Land as well as young people’s understanding of war today through games such as Call Of Duty (COD). St Lawrence’s (1920s) The 1920s takes us over to America with St Lawrence’s year 4s to explore Prohibition using the popular children’s musical Bugsy Malone. St Lawrence’s have been exploring life in the “Speakeasy”, using character development, singing and dancing to share their new-‐
found knowledge on life in 1920s America. Watch out for the gangsters and flapper girls along the way! St Peter and Paul’s (1950s and 60s) The 1950s were the Golden Age of Musicals with Broadway becoming a major part of American culture. But one of the most famous musicals to come out of cultural tensions within society at that time was ‘West Side Story’. Using the songs America and Cool our groups from St Peter and Paul’s look at cultural differences, gang divides and stereotypes. And we can’t possibly ignore the fact that the Beatles played at the Empire Theatre in the 60s so there’s some peace and love thrown in for good measure too! St Joseph The Worker (1980s) The year is 1984, a year of Punks and Skinheads warring on the streets, Miners and Police battling on the picket lines, and austerity spreading throughout the country. St Joseph’s have taken the music from the West End hit musical ‘Billy Elliot’ along with real life (Verbatim) speech from Miners, Police and the public, to create a rousing piece of musical theatre, with a message that still resonates today. St Michaels and All Angels (00s) Welcome to the year 2000! We’re propelled in the ‘noughties’ for all things technology, social media, internet goo goo, marketing blah blah referencing the song Radio GaGa from the hit Westend Musical; Queen and Ben Elton’s ‘We Will Rock You’. All singing, all dancing our group take you through their understanding of life in the 21st Century with notifications, the internet, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, life online can also be a scary place...have you ever googled google?!! PARTICIPANTS All Saints Tom Allister John Barlow Josh Blanchard Bridget Coppull Connor Flaherty Lilly Manns Mark Mathers Hannah Milner Tom O’brien Joani Rimmer Lennon Smith Megan Smith Kya Clarke Chloe Curran Scarlett Curry Siobhan King Lucie Peters Ella Todhunter Erin Todhunter Jaydene Isaac Evan Byrne James Campbell Louise Collins Lucy Connell Emma Fleming Kai Grosscurth Charlie McKevitt Jack Newhall Mollie-‐Jo Phillips Mya Stuart Bethany Wood St Marie’s Annie Price Demi Mathers Katelyn Callaghan Libby Arands Faye Wilson Tiani Chean Amy Lee Rebecca Gallagher Beth Willis Abbey Collins Sarah Ikin Hollie Keane Renee Curlett Ruby Smith Jay Keeley Spencer Naylor Sam Drawwater Stevie Gardiner Charles Nellissarry Tyler McNally Louis Noon Bonnie Smith Jolie Jones Caitlin Phillips Taylor Ramejkis Jessica McHale Connor Kearns St Lawrence’s Codie Allen Evan Anderson Kia Blackburn Daniel Burke Ella Campbell Lewis Cassidy Isobel Cosgrove Lucy Jo Coyle Tia Ferguson Rosie Houghton Ruby Jenkins Sam Kearns Kara Kirkwood Louis Lefebure Emma Leu Joel Maher Ben McKeown Joseph Morgan Owen O’Neill Joseph Pritchard Emma Richards David Spieczynski Sam Stuart Luke Sutter Christian Walsh Alexandra Watson Laura Whiteside Emma Williams Erin Woods Ryan Zanni Owen Newsome Charlotte Mainwearing Hannah Lothian Dylan O’Brien Ryley Jones Ciaran O’Hara Thomas Cashen SS Peter and Paul’s Lucas Bavin Jake Blakemore Carlos Boynton Jessica Byrne Amelia Doran Harry Forsyth Lilymai Goulding Tyler Groves Katie Jackson Tess Loy Gretchen Mbuyongha Karly Murray Holly Need Aaliyah Nelson Brodie Nester Lewis O’Keefe Matthew Parker Caitlin Rice Nathan Riley Kian Schumacher Zara Scott Aaliyah Stanton Isabelle Stanton Mackenzie Sweeney Joshua Thomas Carl Vaughan Grace White Libby Blohm Erin Blohm Alicia Bibby Lois Brough Lily-‐Anna Williams Ellie Rawsthorne Ben Evans Macie Kerrigan Alisha Williams Francis O’Brien Dean Knox Jay Rimmer Kathleen Lennon St Joseph The Worker Frankie Crocker-‐Melia Steven Walker Joshua Conway Madison Gilfoyle Nathan Ward Lily O’Brien Owen Thompson Jessica Jones Adam Staunton Ella Newman Lauren Kirby Sophie Bennett Christa O’Brien Ethan Richards Conor Burke Jack Roberts Paige Drury Athena Feeney Libby Jordan Lucy Linford Emily Murphy Emily Phillips Jasmine Roper Isobel Unsworth St Michaels and All Angels Libby Bushell Olivia Cassidy Thomas Corness Mark Cragg Isabelle Cullen Annie-‐Mae Gavan Ella Gorman Jack Grayson Lucy Hitchmough Olivia James Dominic Jewell Liam Lalley Elise Massam Hannah McIntosh Charlie-‐Jai Murphy-‐
Johnson Joshua Suguitan Alex Sutherland Jack Twigg Josh Walker Joseph Wilkinson Lewis Young Paige Barton Bobby Briggs Harvey Brown Joe Campbell Keira Curry Ben Edwards Dillon Glinton Lily Glover Olivia Gorman Alex Hill Luke Humphreys James Hushon Michael Kuznecovs Ken Lin Ellie-‐Mae Maddocks Abbie Phillips Brodie Phillips Lewis Shiers ALL SAINTS CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL THEATRE PROJECT ASCHS were awarded a grant by Curious Minds and the Arts Council, to run a music project that would benefit the children of ASCHS and its feeder primary schools. After extensive research, ASCHS formed a partnership with the Creative Learning Department at the Liverpool Empire Theatre and the concept of a joint concert was formed. This first stage of the project was to assess what impact short-‐term input would have on our students. Over the past 4 weeks, practitioners from the Empire have been going into all of the schools to run workshops and rehearsals in order to devise the individual pieces of the performance. The children themselves have created everything you see tonight, with guidance from the practitioners. In addition to the weekly sessions, we also took 105 children, from all 6 schools, away for a 3-‐day residential to work on elements of the production. It is our hope that this is just the start of the musical journey and that this project will continue and grow and future performances will be bigger and involving more children. We are already in the planning stages for a joint performance at the Empire Theatre, this time next year…watch this space! ATG Creative Learning in the UK The Ambassador Theatre Group is proud to support an extensive programme of Creative Learning activities across its many theatres. We have busy Creative Learning Departments across the UK delivering regular and varied programmes of events and classes. All programmes include activities related to the shows being presented in the theatres as well as opportunities to explore theatre-‐making more generally and to build personal skills. In addition, we offer regular events exploring the options available to young people interested in a career in theatre. ATG is proud to offer a wide range of participatory classes, workshops and courses across its theatres. Most of these regular classes and youth theatre groups are booked on a termly basis. For further information contact: Natalie F
lynn – Creative Learning Manager 0151 702 7337 Lauren Taylor – Creative Learning Officer 0151 702 7339 Practitioners: Grace Goulding Rosie Rigby Michael Clarke Steph Green Asha Williams Liam Waddle