Playwright gives advice to youngsters.
Students from Coundon Court School and Community College recently enjoyed a master class in playwriting from Alan Pollock, the writer of the Belgrade Theatre’s Coventry Blitz play One Night in November, which is running on the Main Stage until Sat 19th October.
The Year 12 and 13 BTEC Performing Arts students will use the Belgrade’s production of One Night in November and Alan Pollock’s workshop to create their own pieces of theatre inspired by local wartime history. They also visited the Coventry Transport Museum’s War Effort exhibition and the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum where they viewed Word War 2 items from its archive and created a group art project.
The student’s final work, which is part of a project called Rise from the Shadows, will be performed at the Coventry Transport Museum from Wednesday 13th-Friday 15th November.
Coundon Court School teacher Debbie Hotten, said, “Key stage 5 BTEC performing arts students were lucky enough to meet Allan Pollock in a workshop which enabled them to explore issues and themes that usually they would not discuss. The students will focus on reconciliation for their project so it was beneficial for them to be able to discuss and explore themes and ideas taken from the devastating night of the Coventry Blitz. Both staff and students appreciated the commitment and time from Allan Pollock.”
One Night in November was first staged in the Belgrade’s B2 auditorium as part of the theatre’s reopening season in 2008. The production received an overwhelming response from audiences and critics alike, resulting in it being restaged later that year for another sell-out run.This latest production sees the show return to the Main Stage with an all new cast of actors, including Charlotte Ritchie who stars alongside Jack Whitehall in Channel 4’s BAFTA nominated student comedy Fresh Meat.
Directed by the Belgrade’s Artistic Director Hamish Glen, the play tells the story of Katie, a headstrong 18 year old training to be a teacher, who encounters Michael, an Oxford tutor of Romantic Literature and Language, while waiting for the ‘All Clear’ at a railway station.
It’s the beginning of what could be a straightforward love story. But nothing is straightforward in wartime. Unknown to Katie, Michael has been forced to turn his language skills to deciphering codes at Bletchley Park. Katie, who lives with her family in Coventry, has no idea how terrible the threat of war is. But Michael does…
Tickets for One Night in November are available now from the Belgrade Theatre Box Office on 024 7655 3055 priced from £16.25 to £31 or via www.belgrade.co.uk where cheaper tickets are available.