A new play aimed at young children is set to give a delightful new twist on a traditional fairy tale as well as tackle the issue of homophobic bullying by spreading a positive message about diversity and acceptance.
Devised by the critically acclaimed Action Transport Theatre, Happily Ever After is inspired by the Dutch children’s book King and King by Linda De Haan and Stern Nijland – banned and challenged in some countries – which tells the story of two princes who fall in love and live happily ever after. The new play will premiere at the Unity Theatre from 17-19 September as part of Homoptia 2015 and then do a short tour in the North West.
Happily Ever After uses Action Transport Theatre’s trade-mark highly visual, wordless storytelling and comedy clowning to engage children in high quality art. The production, which successfully toured to eight primary schools in Cheshire in 2014, will be supported by expert wrap-around activities which have been created in collaboration with LGBT Youth North West and will enable parents and schools to tackle homophobia whilst promoting mutual respect, equality and diversity amongst primary school children
Directed by Action Transport Theatre’s artistic director Nina Hajiyianni and featuring a cast of international actors, Happily Ever After aims to help raise awareness amongst primary school children around homophobia, gender expectations and ‘difference’, promoting respect and understanding, and equipping children, parents and teachers with a vocabulary around same sex relationships.
Nina Hajiyianni said about the new play, ’There is an absence of gay identities in theatre and wider culture for young children at primary school age yet homophobic bullying in secondary school is still rife, and more and more families now include same sex adult parents or carers or have other family members who are gay. Where are those children’s lives validated or represented in art? Not to mention for younger children who identify as gay themselves. The play powerfully but unintentionally addresses this and the subject of same-sex marriage but not in a heavy handed preachy way.
The production simply and expertly plays with the conventions and symbols associated with ‘the fairytale’ and gently subverts the assumed norm, which usually involves a prince and princess. The show is a word-less production which fuses clowning, physical theatre and dance, drawn from European theatre trends.”
Through the production and working with LGBT Youth North West we hope it will introduce children to the concept of diversity at a young age and also help to reduce the negative experience of “coming out” that most lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans young people experience during school years.”
In May a teacher and an assistant principal at a North Carolina elementary school resigned after the teacher’s decision to read his class King and King was met with a parental backlash.
Almost two thirds of young people have experienced direct homophobic bullying in schools according to a recent survey by charity Stonewall. Nine in ten secondary school teachers and more than two in five primary school teachers say homophobic bullying occurs in their school with the word ‘gay’ often being used as an insult.
Action Transport Theatre exists to put new writing and young people at the heart of UK Theatre. Based in Ellesmere Port, Action Transport Theatre is the only specialist new writing and dedicated young people’s theatre company in Cheshire. The company is driven by its mission to present theatre that is innovative, surprising, challenging and, most importantly, by, for and with young people.
LGBT Youth North West is a regional organisation that seeks to support lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans young people in the North West of England. LGBT North West do this by offering Services for Young People across the region as well as Training and Consultancy opportunities from workshops for young people through to bespoke training for professionals working in the youth sector.
Happily Ever After will open at Liverpool’s Unity Theatre from 17-19 September and then tour to Z-Arts in Manchester (25-26 September) and Ellesmere Port’s Whitby Hall Studio Theatre (2-3 October). The production will tour nationally in 2016 and 2017.
Happily Ever After is aimed at children aged 5+
For further information on Action Transport and LGBT Youth North West visit www.actiontransporttheatre.org and www.lgbtyouthnorthwest.org.uk respectively.
CREATIVE TEAM
Director – Nina Hajiyianni
Devised by Action Transport Theatre
Designer –Rebecca Palmer
Cast – Ady Thompson, Paul Curley, Eve Shotton and Bruno Mendes
Listings
17-19 September (17th at 6pm, 18th at 1.30pm and 19th at 11am & 2pm) -Unity Theatre, Liverpool
Tickets: £6 Box Office: 0151 7094988 or www.unitytheatreliverpool.co.uk
25-26 September (25th at 10am and 26th at 2.30pm) -Z-Arts, Manchester
Tickets: £8 (£6 concessions) Box Office: 0161 2326089 or www.z-arts.org
2-3 October (2nd at 1pm & 3rd at 2pm) -Whitby Hall, Ellesmere Port
Tickets: £6 Adults, £4, £18 family ticket Box Office: 0151 3572120 www.actionstransporttheatre.org/whitby-hall/whats-on