Pupils walk the walk in royal burgh play
MONTHS of research and rehearsals culminated in two days of walking theatre for Inveraray Primary School pupils last week.
Children took to streets of Inveraray to act out scenes and songs that celebrate the Inveraray ‘new’ town and tell the fascinating story of how the royal burgh came to be.
A Town We Made, written by Walking Theatre Company co-founder Sadie Dixon-Spain, takes the form of a short walk around the town with the children acting out scenes based on historical events at certain significant spots.
With a damp but captive audience in tow, the play finished at the primary school where parents and siblings joined the cast for a ceilidh in the main hall.
Sadie explained: ‘The Walking Theatre Company was invited to work with the school and our mission was to create a programme to engage the children, parents and wider community.
‘First we held a history cafe, then made the film and then this exhibition. The archives gave us material and access so the play is based on real people and real history.’
Colin Little and Rebecca Bloom were on hand to help Sadie direct the children, chaperone the audience and act out their own parts too.
‘It’s been immense,’ Sadie continued. ‘There was so much information that the real challenge was creating a script for so many voices. We had 18 children and three adults all with speaking parts so it’s been a bit epic.’
The project, supported by the Inveraray CARS regeneration project, set out to engage children in the history and regeneration of the town through a series of events and productions.
CARS project officer Feargal De Buiteleir attended the Friday evening performance, commenting: ‘It’s been a very successful project. The children go home excited and tell their parents and grandparents about it and get them all talking about it. You want to have event that keep kids interested and not too boring.
‘A big thanks to the Walking Theatre Company, Historic Environment Scotland and the primary school for making it happen.’
An exhibition of the pupils’ work was also on display in the school hall and a specially made display detailing the town’s history featured silhouettes of the pupils which will likely make a reappearance at future Inveraray events.
To see a video of the Inveraray pupils performing, go to the
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