Could free theatre in schools help access to arts?

Some children are missing out on opportunities to experience live theatre because of cost and other barriers, arts leaders have said.

The team at Bristol Old Vic believe access to theatre and creative arts has reached an "emergency" point for some young people, with those from less affluent backgrounds often less likely to attend performances.

Now the city centre theatre is taking free productions directly into Bristol secondary schools in an effort to reach pupils who might otherwise miss out.

"We are really trying to take theatre to everyone across the city and across the kind of barriers that people might face," said engagement director Lucy Hunt.

Nineteen schools are taking part in the Theatre in Education project, with year seven and year eight pupils watching one of two newly commissioned plays performed in their school.

Hunt admitted many families struggle to take their young people to theatre and other cultural activities, and schools themselves are finding it harder due to tighter budgets.

It comes as a recent Arts Council survey suggests demand for creative opportunities remains high among young people.

While 74% of children asked said creativity was important to them, 87% said they would like to do more creative activities and more than half said making them more affordable would help.

Hunt added that young people often do not try drama at school because they are not exposed to it in their lives outside the classroom.

"It tends to be middle-class young people, or schools that are really proactive in bringing students to performances," she said.

The performances have had a positive review from many of the students watching them in the city's schools.

Mikel, a year eight pupil at City Academy, said "It was really fun. It was more than I expected.

"Being on stage gives you confidence because being in front of so many people makes people nervous. I think it gives you other skills in life."

One of the productions, called British Museum, follows a group of teenagers as they explore and challenge their own cultural values and assumptions.

The play is performed by members of Bristol Old Vic's Made in Bristol training programme, aged 18 to 25.

At City Academy Bristol, pupils watched a performance before taking part in a discussion with Muneera Pilgrim, the writer of the play.

She said theatre can help young people understand lives and experiences beyond their own.

Pilgrim added: "They learn to have empathy, they learn confidence, they learn communication.

"It just gives them a wider view of the world, which they may not be able to experience in the other."

Academy pupil Beatriz said she "really liked" the play.

"People are different, they have different personalities and friendships can break sometimes, but can come back."

She said getting the chance to watch theatre meant people could see and experience new things.

As well as bringing the experience of theatre into schools, the Bristol Old Vic Theatre in Education project was created to complement secondary schools' own drama offerings.

Rebecca Pearce, drama teacher at City Academy, said there were many opportunities at the school through extracurricular activities, drama clubs and school productions.

"I think drama gives students the opportunity to go into so many different careers, with transferable skills, whether it's being a lawyer or a politician, a lecturer or a journalist," she said.

"I think it's those skills that people don't always recognise that drama offers for students."

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