International Festival to bring theatre to primary school playgrounds
The Edinburgh International Festival has revealed it is to build outdoor stages in primary school playgrounds in the city as part of a drive to introduce pupils to the world of theatre at an early age.
I nstigated by t he cancellation of live shows at year’s event, the initiative is aimed at helping to encourage the use of outdoor areas in schools for performing, playing and learning in.
A pilot project has been created at Hermitage Park Primary in Leith, where pupils will be encouraged to stage their own shows and ar t i sts are expected to work with pupils of creative projects.
The Play On: Stages initiative, which is being funded from the festival’s own resources, is expected to run for at least the next two years.
As part of the scheme, the EIF has also created new resources for primary school teachers to help introduce pupils to the different art forms that are normally staged in the city each August and why Edinburgh is known around the world as “the Festival City”.
A video created as part of the project explains the origins of the festival in the aftermath of the Second World War.
A spokesman f or t he EIF said: “In place of the stages left empty by the social distancing restrictions, the festival has launched a project to build stages in the playgrounds of Edinburgh primary schools, starting with Hermitage Park Primary in Leith.
“Play On: Stages is a project building stage structures in consultation with schools, bringing playgrounds to life and providing teachers with an outdoor platform f rom which to develop learning and creative activities.
“There is considerable evidence that play and creative activit y helps support childr e n’s devel opment. This includes language skills, problem solving and perspective, as well as increased creativity and wellbeing.”
“The hope is that between
Her mit a g e Pa r k P r i mar y School and Edinburgh International Festival, the stage has literally been set for new and enriching forms of play.”
Caroline Donald, head of learning at the EIF, said: “As the festival stages have gone quiet this August and we wanted to create an opportunity for Festival City children to Play On, discover their creativity, and a space to enjoy being back together. Our stage is not only a space to perform, but can be utilised as a cross curricular learning space.”