Young people’s art project aims to dramatise the history of Wirral

Sep 9 2009 by Lorna Hughes, Birkenhead News

WIRRAL’S history is to be dramatised through a unique new arts project for young people.

Active Drama’s Brian McCann has teamed up with Bidston ranger Nic Harding to launch History Busters, which will see 12 to 19-year-olds guided by the duo to research, write and ultimately perform their own plays.

Brian and Nic are hoping to work with young people’s groups or history and heritage organisations, with each play taking ten weeks to produce.

Brian said: “The idea is we’ll go in with our History Busters and create a piece of theatre based around the history of that group, place, or period in Wirral’s history.

“The young people will create music, they’ll create songs and a script.

“You can make anything into theatre – I’ve done a play about the Pyramids, one about bullying and one about HIV.

“Doing something like this encourages young people to have respect for where they live because they realise the heritage around them.

“Performance builds self-esteem, it builds confidence and it builds respect for others.

“Hopefully the scripts will be archived on a website.”

The History Busters are launching the project by performing Brian’s play about Cammel Laird, Down Our Street, at the Little Theatre, Birkenhead in November.

Rehearsals take place at the Youth Resource Centre in Rock Ferry.

To get involved call 652 0100.