Starting Young

Ladies’ Day opened last Friday, and it is a show particularly close to our guest director Gareth Tudor Price’s heart. He directed the original production of Amanda Whittington’s comedy for Hull Truck Theatre Company back in 2005.

Another point of resonance for Gareth is that casting unites both old and new. Old – well, we prefer to say established - are Sue McCormick and Annie Sawle, who created the roles of Jan and Pearl, and Tom Bevan, who plays all nine male roles; and emerging new talent in actresses Laura Aramayo and Amy Walsh, former members of Hull Truck’s youth theatre company during Gareth’s tenure there.  Both girls went on to train professionally; Laura at the Arden School of Theatre in Manchester and Amy at London’s Academy of Live and Recorded Arts.

That two talented young women discovered theatre, then went on to make it their profession, is testament to the education department over at Hull Truck.  This tradition of young people learning the ropes in youth theatre and participatory projects is found all over the UK (and of course especially in Oldham, which has provided many of today’s TV and theatre performers). It is certainly something that is incredibly important to our work at the Coliseum.

Young people’s achievements are numerous.  We had a very lively chorus of young people for our production of Kes, for example, and 2012’s award winning Star-Cross’d featured an energetic chorus of young people who performed in Alexandra Park, night in, night out - often in some spectacularly unpleasant weather. Every year, our acclaimed pantomime features a chorus drawn from local dance schools and theatre groups.  Children and young people in our audience are enthralled to see youngsters like themselves on stage, and this glimpse of what is possible is often the impetus to join a dance group, to find out about acting classes or to join the Coliseum’s participatory programmes.  

This summer promises to be a busy time for our education team.  I’m particularly intrigued by the sound of July’s Shake It Up!, which is a youth takeover of the theatre, engineered by young people for young people.  Having programmed a week of performances ranging from comedy to drama and music, they are in charge of marketing it and getting it in front of the public on stage. 

We are realistic, of course. Not every young person will go on to work or even train as a performer. But for many, this first encounter with a working theatre inspires a lasting lifelong love of live arts – and a theatregoing habit.   

See you at the theatre,

Kevin Shaw
Artistic Director