Peoples Republic of South Devon

Totnes Young People’s Theatre makes history

June 13th, 2008

- Tales From The Keep: Legend of the Pot of Gold, The Exquisite Corpse; Memory of Water; and The Duke, The Gypsy, and the Poor Poor Girls. Studio 1, Dartington College of Arts, July 12 and 13

Totnes Young People’s Theatre has been exploring history with its latest round of performances, and with the ability to sell out a castle, they must be doing something right. Lee Morgan speaks to them to find out about the company’s creative processThere’s an informal buzz at Totnes Young People’s Theatre. Not least because we’re sitting on the floor in a theatrical studio at Dartington. It’s late afternoon and the sun is getting lower, shining gold on the wooden floors. The group itself begins to glow and shine as they find out what their next project will entail.

Totnes Young People’s Theatre has been awarded some dollops of cash from the Heritage Lottery Fund, with the proviso that the actors put on performances that are inspired by or investigate aspects of their heritage. So far it has seen the youngsters taking part in Tales From the Keep, which saw a procession and performances around Totnes Castle in an event that was opened out to other adult groups in the community and the general public. It was a success and more than a thousand people invaded the castle area to watch and take part.

The next project is called Tales from the Keep 2, and is an altogether different approach, and looks to be even more successful.

This time the link was to be with Berry Pomeroy castle, but due to demand the castle proved too small, and the production on July 12 and 13 has relocated to Dartington.

The eldest group of the Totnes Young People’s Theatre had a brief and a budget to produce their own performance. And it’s a testament to the structure of the company that they can carry it off and approach it with such relish.

The way the youth theatre works is with a mixture of script-based work and improvisation. Often they use a script as a starting point. And through a series of workshops with the support of the mentors and students from Dartington college of art the groups investigates themes, feelings, and scenes.

It’s an incredibly open way of working and the teams relies on a creative trust with the other members and facilitators.

“We take the point that a feeling can never be wrong. We can express them without fear of being judged,” says artistic director Tiffany Strawson.

Maddy of the groups says: ‘We’re comfortable with each other. And the experience of doing a show ties you to people too. Usually not everything goes as plans in the run up to a play, and that last minute panic brings everyone together.”

It’s a system that is intended to make people part of real theatre experience.
“For the actors, Tiff and Jon try to make a lot come from us, to make it more our idea,” says Sam.

“In Lessons from History we did a grandad scene which we devised that became part of the play. We were able to link children’s experience through the scripts.”

John and Tiff are Jon Croose and Tiffany Strawson.

It was Tiffany who established the theatre over four years ago as a development of the youth theatre at KEVICC, King Edward VI Community College. Now Totnes Young People’s Theatre caters for around 70 young people, from the age of nine, who have workshops every week with people who have a professional background in making theatre. Tiffany also has a strong connection to Devon Youth Theatre.

“Part of the artistic process here is in the devising. The rehearsal rooms are pretty free, creatively,” she says.

Jon, who is also artistic director of Means of Production Community Arts, and works freelance with Totnes Young People’s Theatre as a writer/director, says: “We set quite high expectations, and we don’t say things are good when they’re not.”

But that hasn’t dimmed the enthusiasm.

“It’s nice here,” says Sam. “Relaxed. It’s like you’re not treated as a student, but you’re given responsibility.”

And there’s a sense of belonging to the youth theatre as a whole, not just the age groups – the elder members talk with pride about another of the heritage-funded projects, which sums up the strength of the approach of the theatre and underlines the importance of drama.

Sam says: “One of the younger groups did a piece on the railway station that was bombed in the war. You don’t think of Totnes as being in the war. These are real people’s stories. And they made it more relevant to today. And you were able to put it into perspective.”

• Tales From The Keep will now take place at Studio 1 at Dartington College of Arts on July 12 and 13. The event will feature four plays about local history, including the mysterious Legend of the Pot of Gold, a Victorian murder melodrama set in Totnes entitled The Exquisite Corpse, and Memory of Water, a love story set against the backdrop of local raids by the 17th century Barbary pirates, who once stole children from South Hams villages to sell them into slavery.

Top of the bill for the event will be a new play The Duke, The Gypsy, and the Poor Poor Girls, which tells the story of the 19th century Seymour family and the real lives of poor women as recorded in parish Poor Law records. The play also introduces the tale of early aviator Albert Liewentaal, aka the Birdman of Dittisham, and the story of Ruth St Maur, illegitimate daughter of Ferdinand Seymour and a gypsy kitchen maid, who grew up to become a leading Suffragette and socialist revolutionary.

Entry Filed under: Arts, Society