Quote of the week

Life isn't about finding yourself, it is about creating yourself'

George Bernard Shaw
If you cannot mould yourself entirely as you would wish, how can you expect other people to be entirely to your liking?
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/wish.html

Sunday, August 7, 2016

Theatre Royal Bury Children's Festival, 2016.


The Wind and Sun, one of the acts taking part in the Festival

This year I was really pleased to be able to give some of my locality budget* to support the Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds Children’s Festival.  Neighboring councillor, Colin Spence, also provided funding, and as a result during June Lavenham, Bildeston, Whatfield and Cockfield Schools, and also Colin’s schools in Great Waldingfield and Acton, were visited by a troupe of live performers. The children enjoyed drama, dance, music, circus and storytelling and I have had some encouraging feedback about the shows.

There is nothing like live theatre.   I hope that this small move towards introducing children to it at an early stage will encourage them to take an interest in live performing arts, and to become the audiences and players of the future.

This week I received an e mail from Julia Read, the Head of Development at the Theatre Royal on the outcomes of the Festival.   This tells me that the Festival had been a great success, attracting an audience of over 4000.   It visited 24 schools and at 9 other venues, and involved some 15 different theatre companies.  Feedback forms showed an excellent response

Looking to the future, the Director of the Theatre Royal, Karen Simpson would like to reach out to more parents.   In the report she wrote:  ‘We would like to work with schools in the future to invite parents into the performances in schools.  This would enable many more parents to experience the quality and intimacy of the work on offer.  It would also reinforce the experience at home and in school for the child.

In an age where the solitary pursuits of the internet seem to absorb more and more time, sharing a theatrical experience with others is to my mind more important than ever.


*This is taxpayer’s money, a small amount of which, Suffolk County Council allows me to distribute to communities and organisations around the Division

No comments:

Post a Comment