TiE Today in Wales, Author: Edward David Humphreys, University of Chester

University of Chester

TiE Today: Contemporary

Case studies examining

the role of TiE in Wales

Author: Edward David Humphreys

Assessment Number: J24672

Supervisor: Dr Sarah Rose Evans

Word Count: 8,586

Contents

Plagiarism disclaimer ........................................................................................................................ 2

Abstract ................................................................................................................................................. 3

Acknowledgments .............................................................................................................................. 4

List of illustrations.............................................................................................................................. 5

1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 7

2. Methodology ................................................................................................................................ 9

3. Literature Review ......................................................................................................................11

Origins of TiE in Britain ...............................................................................................................11

TiE in Wales; 1950s-1980s ..........................................................................................................12

TiE in Wales; 1988-2000s ............................................................................................................14

TiE in Wales; Post-2000s ............................................................................................................17

4. Case Studies ..............................................................................................................................20

5. Conclusion..................................................................................................................................37

6. Bibliography ...............................................................................................................................38

7. References ..................................................................................................................................40

8. Appendix .....................................................................................................................................44

An interview with Angharad Lee, director of SXTO .............................................................44

An interview with Jeremy Turner, Artistic Director of Arad Goch ...................................51

Extracts of SXTO teacher resource pack ...............................................................................57

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Plagiarism disclaimer

I confirm that this dissertation is my own work and is not copied from published or

unpublished work, it has also not been previously submitted at University of Chester

or elsewhere.

I confirm that I have read and understand the Department and University regulations

on plagiarism in the Performing Arts and Media Handbook.

Signed: D.Humphreys

Date: 30/04/18

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Abstract

This dissertation explores how theatre-in-education (TiE) is used to stage social

issues for young participants, specifically in Wales. To begin, there is a history of

TiE; looking at how it was introduced to Britain. Throughout, there will be focus on

key moments that changed the course of TiE programmes. Contained in this

dissertation are two case studies which both deal with social issues identified by

local authorities targeted at participants, which were of secondary school age; Theatr

Clwyd’s Justice in a Day and Arad Goch’s SXTO. I analysed the programmes,

looking at the structure, devising process and participatory role of the audience;

seeing what makes a TiE piece effective for its participants.

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the following people and organisations for their support and

assistance in my research and exploration into this part of the theatre industry. I am

hugely enthusiastic about being a part of in my future career and show a great

interest into its past and current state. Their insights have been invaluable to this

project:

Dr Sarah Rose Evans BA MA PGCE PhD FHEA, Lecturer in Drama and Theatre

Studies. Learning, Teaching and Assessment Coordinator from the University of

Chester.

Emyr John, Theatr Clwyd Creative Engagement Associate.

Angharad Lee, Director of SXTO.

Jeremy Turner, Artistic Director, Arad Goch.

Cast and Creative team of Justice in a Day 2018; Morgan Rees-Davies, Lloyd

Meredith, Sian Owens and Cassey Driver.

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List of illustrations

Fig.1

Screenshot of the Arts Council Funding for Arad Goch from the last

financial year. Arts Council Wales. (2018). Arts Council Wales; Arts Funding

Directory. Retrieved from www.arts.wales/funding/funding-directory on the

05/04/18.

Fig.2

Screenshot of the Arts Council Funding for Theatr Clwyd from the last

financial year. Arts Council Wales. (2018). Arts Council Wales; Arts Funding

Directory. Retrieved from www.arts.wales/funding/funding-directory on the

05/04/18.

Fig.3

Screenshot of the Arts Council Funding for the Wales Millennium

Centre and Welsh National Opera from the last financial year. Arts Council

Wales. (2018). Arts Council Wales; Arts Funding Directory. Retrieved from

www.arts.wales/funding/funding-directory on the 05/04/18.

Fig.4

A diagram depicting Chris Johnston’s ‘The Fish’ used in Theatr Clwyd’s

Justice in a Day. Johnston, C. (2006). The Improvisation Game; discovering

the secrets of spontaneous performance. London; Nick Hern Books.

Fig.5

Extract from the Arad Goch Teacher Resource Pack, highlighted by the

author. Turner, J. (2014). SXTO- Cwmni Theatr Arad Goch; teacher resource

pack. Aberystwyth; Arad Goch.

Fig.6




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Fig.9




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Fig.11




Fig.12




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1. Introduction

This is an area of theatre which has been brought to my attention within the last year

of my studies at university. The idea “to make young people aware of their right and

duty to engage in struggles for greater liberty and equality in society” (Ireland &

Harman, 2016, p19) through the use of theatre and see the real impact this industry

can really have, that is something I want to be a part of. After my Work Based

Learning placement at Theatr Clwyd in May-June, 2017 and having completed my

Applied Practices module at the University of Chester, the application of drama in

community settings appealed to me as a future career opportunity.

During my placement at Theatr Clwyd, I worked alongside Emyr John, Creative

Engagement Associate, who focuses on creating TiE programmes to explore

different issues for the schools across North Wales and North West England. It was

here that John and I devised the pilot project of Junior Justice in a Day, one of many

follow ups to the original Justice in a Day programme, to raise awareness of the

effects of cyberbullying. It was aimed at primary school students, aged 9-11, and I

was able to observe how the programme we had devised engaged and raised

discussion about cyberbullying and the criminal justice system. By combining this

experience with the skills and different approaches I had learnt from the Applied

Practices module, where I was particularly interested in the work of Geese Theatreanother

company who used drama and theatre in community settings to explore

issues with their participants- I developed a research interest in applying theatre

outside mainstream settings and how it can change perspectives.

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With my ambition clear, in this dissertation, my main question was: what makes an

effective piece of TiE, effective? To help me investigate this I will consider:

• What have theatre companies in the past achieved through TiE and who are

the key companies/practitioners who influenced this movement?

• What elements are required to ensure that the programme presented to an

audience or group of participants will raise discussion on particular social

issues? How can this be achieved?

• What is the current state of TiE in Wales?

These questions became the foundation for my exploration, and set out clear

research areas for me to investigate.

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2. Methodology

My research method has been qualitative, which has enabled me to gain a strong

grasp of how TiE in Wales is effective, specifically looking at how their material

raises discussion and debate amongst younger participants. This has been achieved

through a combination of primary and secondary research. What interviewing and

observation work, examples of primary research, has enabled me to do is “study

things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or interpret, phenomena

in terms of the meanings people bring to them” (Denzin & Lincoln, 1994, p3). My

methodology has also led me to look at resources which are attached to the

programmes.

My methodology has enabled me to carry out fieldwork to gain an in-depth

perspective of seeing a TiE production in action and to see how those involved,

reacted post-show. What this experience has also done is contextualise what I had

researched with articles documenting previous productions. This primary research

allows me to see theory in practice, for example, Chris Johnston’s fixed and free

theory into the performance of Justice in a Day. This would be an example of how

“ethnography recognizes the transformative nature of fieldwork where as we search

for answers to questions about people we may find ourselves in the stories of others”

(Hoey, 2017) and it is clear how this fieldwork has resulted in a change of my

perspective of what role, theatre plays in raising awareness of issues. It is clear that

going beyond literature improves my awareness of the state of current TiE

programmes and how they engage participants first hand. Clifford Geertz states that

“a proper ethnographer ought properly to be doing is going out to places, coming

back with information” (1988, p1) and by doing this, my own insight to the work has

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broadened. It has been far more useful for me to experience this first hand as it

reinforces my secondary research and, more importantly, the interviews I have

conducted, allowing me to see theory put into practice.

This combination of primary and secondary research could be argued to be the

triangulation method. This “refers to a process by which a researcher wants to verify

a finding by showing that independent measures of it agree with or, at least, do not

contradict it” (Rahman & Yeasmin, 2012, p155) and this validation of knowledge is

essential to exploring the question and making a solid argument. However, the major

limitation of this research method has been managing time. In this type of research, I

have to take time to immerse myself in the field of work I am exploring, transcribing

the interviews I have conducted and getting them certified and, significantly, be able

to dissect the information gained and to apply it correctly. I have also found myself

using very few quotations from the transcripts I have produced, although it has given

me insights I would not have known otherwise. This insight has added to my

perspective and reinforced previous knowledge and research done prior to the

interview.

Before analysing the case studies, it is imperative to understand the historical

background of TiE, the issues the industry faced and how they overcame the

challenges faced to be in the state we see it in today.

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3. Literature Review

Origins of TiE in Britain

Theatre-in-Education in Britain was officially established in 1965 by The Belgrade

Theatre, Coventry. However, the connection between theatre, or more so drama,

and the education system was recognised long before then. After the Second World

War and into the 1950’s, Caryl Jenner and Brian Way recognised that children

needed to be freer in their education from the previous system. The emphasis was

on academic subjects and technical training, with a lack of attention to the arts and

other subjects not considered to be ‘academic’. In this period, the label of ‘preparing

for life’ was prominent, but the call for ‘progressive education’ began to replace the

old systematic one. What followed was the opportunity for children to “work out their

own personal problems” (Wooster, 2007, p8) and drama would become the key

element for this process to be effective. Both Drama-in-Education (DiE) and TiE

consider ‘play’ crucial as there “…was an acceptance that ‘play’ is central part of

being human and that through play we learn and develop both motor skills and

psychological well-being.” (Wooster 2007, p8). The use of ‘play’ was introduced after

research into child psychology, from professionals such as Alexander S. Neill,

suggested that children must develop naturally and not be coerced by adults’ own

beliefs and choices. With the recognition of drama as a useful educational tool, more

companies and practitioners began to develop their own styles.

The most significant practitioner for applying drama into an educational setting was

Dorothy Heathcote from the 1950s. Although Heathcote’s work is DiE based, many

of her theories are applicable to TiE theory. The most noticeable aspect which both

areas share is the use of role. Role enabled a safe zone when exploring issues

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which could directly affect participants, but also encourages the participants to ‘play’

either with the character performing in front of them or with the characters they could

be playing themselves. As Gavin Bolton highlights, “the self-spectatorship of role

‘protects the participants into a level of emotion which they may remain safely

detached, both engaged and detached’” (Wooster, 2007, p11-12). It is essential that

this can be achieved so that participants be a part of the action, and observers of the

action. However, it is important to note the differences. Heathcote purposefully

placed people in the role of ‘experts’ so that they were always engaging with the

exploration and usually over a long period, over a day or a week. In addition, DiE

may have a focus on the cognitive behavioural theory, whereby participants are

actively learning from themselves and making realisations about their own actions. In

TiE, role may simply be used as audience being observers of the roles performing

before them, and then using the material to discuss key issues. Other times, the

audience may be addressed as a role within the play, but usually not as participative

as a role in DiE. The application of role onto the audience in a TiE may assist to

bridge the gap between actors and audience. Nevertheless, the use of role plays a

highly significant part in creating a fictional world which participants can make

parallels with their own reality.

TiE in Wales; 1950s-1980s

In 1954, the Ministry of Education for Wales documented how “Drama is ‘one of the

essential ways of learning’ enabling the children to ‘master their own little worlds’.”

(Wooster, 2007, p7). However, the first TiE Company in Wales was not established

until 1972 in the form of The Breconshire Theatre Company, later Theatr Powys, but

was quickly followed by the opening of four more TiE companies in 1976. In fact, the

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development in TiE in Wales was very quick, as within the first ten years, there were

eight organisations representing each county who had defined their personal styles

and structures. It was noted by Gill Ogden, that Wales possessed “a sustained

provision of TiE… that was greater in scope than anything elsewhere in the UK”

(cited in Taylor, 1997, p51). Before the Education Reforms Act 1988, the companies

had much more freedom in what they did. For example, Cwmni Fran Wen were able

to produce Amaswn, which introduced infants to environmental issues and

communication within friendships in a non-verbal way.

The Educational Reforms Act 1988 (ERA) brought about whole new challenges for

TiE work. The “Thatcher years of the 1980’s, funding for Theatre in Education was

cut” (Cope, 2015). Prior to this, the ‘Black Papers’, started in the 1960s, recorded

how “schools have increasingly swung away from the notion… that education exists

to fit certain sorts of people for certain jobs” (Cox & Dyson, 1969, p6) and it was

clear that TiE had become involved in political debates. Those who supported the

shift in using drama as a way of educating, the Liberal Educationalists as labelled by

the Conservative wing of society, were being blamed for all “social and economic ills”

(Wooster, 2007, p30) and that this needed to be controlled. One major obstacle

which the ERA posed was the introduction of Local Management of Schools (LMS)

who shifted budgetary controls from Local Authorities to individual schools. Now that

the schools had control of the budgets, the onus was now on them to decide what

the money went into. Ultimately, this meant “there was no centralised, city-wide or

region-wide support for TiE companies” (Kleiman, 2013). TiE companies were

pushed further down the priorities of schools, who could not commission work for TiE

companies to produce. As a result of the LMS, many TiE companies simply stopped.

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Another significant issue was the standard of TiE programmes. Those TiE

companies that continued found themselves in a situation whereby they were

actually Theatre for Young People. The schools that paid wanted the performances

in front of large audiences. This completely opposed the purpose of TiE; there was

no participation or sense of self-discovery. However, to avoid complete

disappearance, TiE companies found themselves adapting to the National

Curriculum, also established in the ERA, and marketed themselves as an alternative

way of presenting the ideas of the subjects; and for the children, the aim was “to

market the idea of a performance [as a] ‘treat’” (Wooster, 2007, p33). This “general

movement towards market-led forces… undermine[d] the artistic and philosophical

autonomy of TiE”, furthered by “implementation of the national curriculum and

statutory testing” restricted companies to what they could really do (Ogden in Taylor,

1997, p58). TiE companies in Wales had to deal with these changes, and as seen in

the next section, problems only unique to them.

TiE in Wales; 1988-2000s

From the 1990s to early 2000s, the optimism for TiE in Wales began to fracture. As

Ruth Shade highlights, “In the rest of the UK, many TiE companies lost their funding

during the 1980s and 1990s, and Wales is unique in having a network of eight

theatre companies dedicated to working out of and with specific communities” (2004,

p140), but this optimism for Wales’ stand out achievement actually became their

hindrance. One of the main reason for this fragmentation in a well-established

structure was due to changes in ACW who sought to attempt to spend less money.

They found that it would be unsustainable to continue with this structure; the plans

put forward in Strategy for Drama; The British Guide suggested that TiE companies

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would have to begin covering larger distances with less funding, be amalgamated

with other companies or find themselves with no funding support whatsoever. The

most controversial suggestion was to completely cut the funding of Hijinx Theatre in

Cardiff, when they were the only company who offer opportunities specifically for

young people with special needs. Over 150 responses were made to this one

particular aspect of the report. As Shade highlights, this was an example from ACW

and the National Welsh Assembly where “it secures the future of those ventures

which most correspond with traditional concepts of ‘quality’” (2000, p54). This can be

seen evidently by the statistic that “from 1994 to 1999 the building-based Clwyd

Theatr Cymru received 111 per cent increase as against Hijinx’s 1.52 per cent”

(Wooster, 2007, p38). Inevitably, the economics of Wales will play a huge part into

the standard of TiE production and in turn hugely changes the effectiveness.

Furthermore, it will not just be the quality of the programme affected, but also

logistics of distributing throughout their areas and will present challenges to theatre

companies, such as “Arad Goch must cover twice its original area with less money”

(Wooster, 2007, p37). Even with the support from ACW’s five franchises scheme,

including Arad Goch, those companies were still unhappy as “‘their’ company would

now be expected to work outside ‘their’ area” (Wooster, 2007. P37). In an interview

with the then Director of the Clwyd Theatr Cymru Theatre for Young People

(CTCTYP), Tim Baker, Wooster questions how confident he is on the future of TiE in

Wales. Baker refers to when the relationship between theatres could only improve

from the time when they have “been real enemies in some years- I mean shouting

across the table- and the franchise bid did nothing to help that” (Wooster, 2007,

p135).

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Attached to this is the geography of Wales. In this period, the unitary authorities

broke up meaning that there were more local authorities. This would mean that the

catchment areas of each theatre would now have to deal with separate local county

councils. For example, Theatr Clwyd was based in the single county of Clwyd which

covered four counties that are all now separate councils. At another point in

Wooster’s interview with Baker, the CTCTYP director highlights the struggles the

theatre faces due to the geographic changes; “The sticking point has been that ever

since Clwyd was split up, Denbighshire and Wrexham have said ‘no we’re not paying

because… you’re not on our patch” (Wooster, 2007, p136). The fact that the funding

for ‘old Clwyd’ remained the same meant there was a real struggle between the four

counties, who had to divide the money between themselves. This means that gaining

access to other areas than Flintshire has to also go through those councils who are

unwilling to put money into an organisation not considered to be theirs. Again, this

contradicts the ACW’s policies which promoted “inclusiveness, access and

participation in the arts” (Wooster, 2007, p37). Certainly, within this period of Welsh

theatre, there was a strong hostility from all of the local councils, so a lack of trust

could have resulted in TiE companies in a serious predicament. Gill Ogden, who

wrote this during the tumultuous period, sums up how the “economic and

administrative context changes for both education and the arts in the late 1990’s the

nature of Welsh TiE is likely to be affected by compromise and necessity” (cited in

Taylor, 1997, p57).

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TiE in Wales; Post-2000s

As Roger Wooster importantly highlights, “the trauma of the period 1998-2002 left a

legacy of mutual distrust amongst the companies that is only now beginning to

dissipate” (2007, p41). This certainly plays a role in funding for programmes like

SXTO and Justice in a Day who rely on finding their own private funders. As seen in

Fig.1 1 and Fig.2, the difference is huge in economic terms between the two theatre

companies, but these are the Arts Council Wales funding for the whole company.

This shows that the board for the arts in Wales does not fund or recognise TIE work

significant enough to have individual financial backing; instead, the companies have

to choose how much the programmes receive whilst also dealing with other

commitments.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Even though there is a gap of approximately £1.4 million difference between the two

companies above, it is worth noting the difference compared to the two biggest

receivers of funding from Arts Council Wales, which can be seen in Fig. 3. These

1

In 2004, Turner criticised the ACW in an interview and although fourteen years ago, still relevant

today. He states how one member of the Welsh Assembly stated “that TiE is ‘the jewel in the Welsh

crown’”, which he goes onto criticise, “but they don’t actually polish it too often” (Wooster, 2007, p83).

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figures echo what Wooster spoke of, and how the funding of South Wales based

organizations receive the biggest funding. Theatr Clwyd is in fact third in the list,

even though there is a £2 million margin between them and second on the list. In an

interview with Emyr John, he spoke of how the programme would be lucky if it were

to carry on for another year as the current funders of the programme are struggling;

this is probably due to the commitments to other projects throughout Britain. For

programmes to continue, funding each programme individually may need to take

place.

Figure 3

Away from the economic factors that affect the standard of these performances, the

formats that are being created certainly seem to be returning to the participatory

work seen before the ERA. It could be argued that many companies, nowadays, lean

towards using a “central level of participation is peripheral, where the audience may

take part in activities… adding to the theatricality of the play without affecting the

course of the action” (Ogden cited in Taylor, 1997, p52) which keeps their

participants in the ‘light’ and always prepared for what could be directed at them,

although some participants may not react as companies intend; lending itself to a

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philosophy of “sensitivity at every moment to one another and to the audience is

more important than the wish for self-expression” (Brook cited in Johnston, 2006,

p169). However, other companies may “maintain its theatricality by limiting any

participation to an extrinsic position, separated from the play itself, in the form of a

workshop or separate role-play” (Ogden cited in Taylor, 1997, p52) which may lower

engagement throughout the production, but reduces interruption of participants and

allows the smoother running of a production, meaning stronger material for postshow

discussions.

The two case studies in the following chapter will be analysed comparatively to see

how different formats and unique elements of the work impact on the effectiveness of

the overall programme.

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4. Case Studies

The following case studies- Justice in a Day and SXTO- contextualise how TiE

raises awareness of issue based topics. Both programmes appear to align itself with

the intentions of a Welsh “Ministry of Education report in 1954 [which] records that

the exploration through drama is ‘one of the essential ways of learning’ enabling the

children ‘to master their own little worlds’” (Wooster, 2007, p7). The material

produced in the two cases are designed to support learning and raise discussion

amongst the participants. Analysis will allow a deeper insight to elements that

construct the programmes, looking at devising through to the post-workshop support.

By doing this, I will be able to embrace methods and approaches for my future

ambition to work in this sector; but also raise my awareness of challenges that I may

face.

Summaries

Justice in a Day started in 2010, produced by Theatr Clwyd and directed by Emyr

John, the programme is supported by the North Wales Police and Communities

Trust (PACT) and funded by ScottishPower Foundation, after a successful pilot in

2009. The story follows the protagonist, Connor, who commits a crime, is arrested

and sentenced in the local crown court. The young participants have the opportunity

to see how the criminal justice system intervenes when a crime is committed and the

effects that the crime has on friends, family and the community. The programme

allows the participants to see a scene and then to analyse what they have seen and

begin to ask questions of Connor, repeating this binary structure of scene/activity.

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Each year, PACT will request the show to be focussed on a particular crime; ranging

from knife crime to drug abuse to underage drinking. 2 The structure of the

programme provides the free space for PACT to change the crime, keeping the

content up to date and relevant. The mix of active and passive involvement offers the

participants a variety of ways to engage with the content of the programme. When

analysing this programme, I will be referring to the following theorists; Chris

Johnston, whom John identified as a direct influence on his work, from the

development process through to facilitation theories. Helen Nicholson, a renowned

author on the relationship between theatre and education, provides evidence which

strongly justifies why works, such as this, are effective. Finally, Alan Read, whose

research into the relationship between law and theatre means that there is a strong

justification as to why drama is such a useful tool to raise awareness of particular

issues.

Arad Goch’s SXTO was funded by part of their ACW funding and local authorities,

who had highlighted the spike in cases where “some young people had been caught

texting pictures as a way of intimidating others; some of the pictures were of a sexual

nature” (personal communication, March 28, 2018). Unlike Justice in a Day, SXTO

has a fixed storyline which explores the dangers of sending indecent pictures to

others and what this can lead to. The programme follows the story of Lowri and her

relationship with Meic, who leads her to send indecent images to show how much

she loves him; it goes on to reveal how once a picture is sent, it becomes out of your

control and can end up anywhere. Eventually, all of the characters become aware of

2

According to recent records from North Wales Police, reported knife crime incidents went from 382

(2013) to 742 (2017), which is why this year’s project focussed on that again. With calls to “…do far

more to help young people understand that the dangers associated with carrying a knife” (Bagnall,

2018).

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the indecent images and it shows how their attitudes and behaviour change towards

Lowri, leading to her isolation. The piece demonstrates how there is a lack of support

for Lowri, which is contrasted to the post-show workshop, where the question and

answers session and teacher resource pack include details of where the students

can go to for support if they were to ever get into a situation like this themselves. The

theories of Augusto Boal and Constantin Stanislavski will be used to breakdown the

three distinct parts of this programme. Boal presents theatre as a ‘game’ between

the audience and the oppressors, it allows them to “make sense of life and as a

means of giving people the strength to overcome their oppressions” (Boal, 2002, p

XXIV). His theories can be applied to the development stage and post-show

workshop. In contrast, Stanislavski’s system is hugely influential on the performance

aspect of the programme, using active analysis to evoke a sense of honesty within

the piece.

Development

Development is an important area to analyse in order to understand what methods

were adopted to create these pieces. In an interview with John, he revealed how he

follows a fixed yet broad devising technique coined, by Chris Johnston, as ‘The Fish’.

This method divides the development stage into two parts; first there is the broad

start that leads to the central idea. The second part sees the development of the

central idea, before editing and narrowing it down to the final product (See Fig.4). In

this case, the devising process is informed by the fact that the company were given

the focus for the production. This means that they can begin from the second half of

the process. Here, the company, through a series of improvisations, have to find the

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core material around the central idea; whether it be about the relationships, the

themes, an image or a piece of narrative. After these initial improvisations, a

repertoire of material is created. The company will reach “a certain point, [where] it

fails to imaginatively provoke and inspire in the way it did before” (Johnston, 2006,

p20). It is from this point onwards that the editing takes place and works towards the

final product. Once this has been achieved, a script will not have been formed, but a

solid structure in which the company can improvise in, linking back to Johnston’s

fixed and free theory. This structure sets boundaries for the devising process, but

enables the freedom to explore until all avenues have been exhausted by the

company. Interviews and meetings with police officers, education officers and

professionals who work in law, allow a greater breadth of knowledge for John to work

with, and introduce rules to improvisations when back in rehearsal rooms. John’s aim

is to show how the criminal justice system intervenes and handles particular cases;

therefore it is important that during the development process, John stops

improvisations which contradicts his research. The research acts as a boundary to

the actor’s improvisations. By adding boundaries, “like a theme or a restriction or an

objective”, the improvisations begin to “anchor participants’ energy” (Johnston, 2005,

p25). By doing this, as well as removing any errors in facts, it also means that the

performers “don’t just collapse exhausted” but are “fired up again by remembering

the structural components of the [performance]” (Johnston, 2005, p25).

Ultimately, the results of this playful development process is the construction of a

structured programme, whereby activities are interwoven into the scenes. By

allowing the participants to ask questions to the characters and to discuss matters of

the programme in specific moments, the “plot enabled the actor/teachers to move

seamlessly from performance to facilitation” (Nicholson, 2009, p32) resulting in

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discussion on the scene still fresh in the participants’ mind. Johnston’s idea of the

fixed and free allows the participants’ focus to be filtered at the correct moments and

creates a mutual respect between facilitator and participants; this should result in a

greater engagement with the material, allowing for livelier discussions. It also allows

time for reinforcing the ideas that the play presents. Even though there is a balance

between the fixed scenes and open discussion, there is a sense that “Acting was far

less important than debating” (Nicholson, 2009, p25) meaning that this becomes

more than just a piece of theatre to merely watch for the young participants. What

this structure produces is a balance of status between participants and facilitator

whereby the “the facilitator is always open to challenge by participants on this issue”

(Johnston, 2005, p9) and to develop insights and perspectives of the criminal justice

system. By accepting this responsibility, the facilitator must be respectful and listen

to points made by the participants. However, my observations also showed how

important it is for the facilitator to introduce boundaries along the way to guide the

outcomes. One example of this is when one participant enquired whether Connor,

the offender, and Robert, the victim, may have been in a gay relationship; this

produced laughter amongst other participants. The facilitator, Taylor Martin,

answered the question professionally, but at the same time closed that possible

discussion, creating a boundary and focussing the participants’ attention back to the

story. Boundaries ensured that the participants’ energy was grounded, but did not

restrict the participants’ freedom to discuss.

For SXTO, open forum discussions with groups of year 8s and year 9s in one

secondary high school, conducted by director, Angharad Lee, and writer, Bethan

Gwanas were the starting point of the development stage. During these discussions,

it became apparent that there were many ‘sexting’ incidents within the school and

24 | P a g e

one of the participants had been involved with an incident herself. From this initial

discussion, Gwanas wrote a few scenes. These were taken to another secondary

school and performed to another group of 13-15 year olds. From this performance,

the female participants spoke how they were “not initially supportive of the person

who had done or been caught up in the Sexting” (personal communication, March

25, 2018). After initially relying on children’s perspectives of the show, rehearsals

began at Arad Goch. Here, the script was adapted to the actors, so that there was a

sense of ownership for them. There is a strong sense that the devising process saw

the “Artists [as] witnesses of their times; they should not impose on their public their

own view of society… but, after speaking their speech… they should help others to

stimulate inside themselves the artists that lie within” (Boal, 2002, p17). Considering

the devising process enabled the involvement of the intended age group could prove

that there is more to just the performance that young participants can be involved

with, and further their understanding of such a subject. This aspect of the devising

process enables the programme to have a stronger connection to the target

audience. The final step to develop “the script together so that the actors felt

ownership and to give Bethan [Gwanas] different perspectives on character analysis

and responses” (personal communication, March 25 2018) is a critical step in

achieving an honest performance 3 .

3

In another interview, Lee stated she achieved this by setting “them a lot of task based activities and

Bethan task based activities to try and develop that script so that the actors had a huge input into who

these characters were and how they would react to certain scenarios” (Arad Goch, 2014).

25 | P a g e

Facilitation

During my observations of Justice in a Day, the most significant aspect to see the

difference was moving from one facilitator to two. John clarified how the shift to two

facilitators impacted on the TiE projects’ ability to explore the core issue. When John

originally facilitated the programme solo, he discussed how he could digress to

answer questions and then direct the route back to the piece because of his

experience over the previous runs of the programme and his in-depth knowledge of

the court system. This year, Taylor Martin alongside Morgan Rees-Davies, were able

to use more diverse facilitation strategies to engage participants. Martin was the lead

facilitator, only going into role for the interviews, and provoked discussion for the

participants. Rees-Davies, who played the role of Connor’s father and friend, Robertproviding

the majority of the humour- was able to support the facilitation, adding on

to what Taylor had said and also seemed to have a more informal approach to the

children. Between the two facilitators, their relationship could be defined simply as

“One can be inside leading, the other can be out, observing” (Johnston, 2005, p65).

Furthermore, by having two facilitators with a strong working relationship, there is

always that sense of security, reducing the risk for disengagement in the TiE

programme. As Nic Fine highlights from his experience, “Two heads are better than

one. One of us may go down a path that is not particularly productive and one of us

will always keep ourselves unhooked, or at least a little more objective… It’s helpful

having a colleague who can do that” (cited in Johnston, 2005, p84). This was evident

in this project, and the role of observer constantly switched, each picking an

appropriate moment to move the programme on to something fresh, showing

responsiveness to each other and the participants.

26 | P a g e

In a complete contrast, due to the structure of SXTO, the focus of facilitation is seen

in the post-show question and answer session. However, both programmes

challenged participants into debate and discussion about the issues they have

witnessed. The SXTO session lasted about 20-30 minutes – as the play itself was 50

minutes long – which allowed students to direct their questions to the company.

However, as one reviewer noted, “there [was a] limited time for this kind of

discussion and there was an inevitable sense of rush in the mini-workshop” (Barton,

2014). Clearly, due to such a limited time for participation, concerns begin to shroud

the effectiveness of this reinforcement; is thirty minutes long enough to discuss the

serious matter of sexting? This lack of time for the post-show workshop is worrying

and could suggest that the participants did not have time “to dive, and safely return.”

(Johnston, 2005, p28) on the subject. This means that the participants had a limited

time with the leaders of the programme. Clearly, time is always the main challenge

when producing TiE programmes, and is something that I will need to consider when

devising my own work.

As stated above, Arad Goch facilitated a post-show question and answer session,

which lasted thirty minutes 4 . Students were divided into four groups, each

representing a character. They had to argue why they thought that character was not

at fault, regardless of each participants’ personal feelings. By dividing, a competition

was created and it “was a great catalyst for the discussions because even if you

didn’t think the character you were representing was guilty, you had to fight their

corner” (personal communication, March 25, 2018). These discussions enabled

participants to recognise specific moments where each character had a choice to

4

Jeremy Turner states in an interview with Wooster that the decision was made when Arad Goch formed that

they would “separate the performance aspects of the work from the interactive elements of the work. So

almost all of our works in schools are straight performances. No interaction” (Wooster, 2007, p83).

27 | P a g e

stop what was happening, an action that could break the chain of events. It was later

revealed that all of the characters were at blame, as they could have, at some point,

broken the chain of events. Here, there is a noticeable similarity with the format of

the discussions from Justice in a Day whereby the use of group discussions enabled

deeper insight for the participants. The use of group discussions allows “people to

work through something they have just come aware of” and it creates a space that

“allow[s] us to process that thing we call experience” (Read, 2016, p13). This may

have led to realisations of having to put facts before their personal feelings,

challenging students to think carefully before presenting their point; something which

the Theatr Clwyd facilitators wanted to emphasise.

Authenticity

The balance of status is underpinned by the use of space in Justice in a Day.

Students are taken to the local courts and the theatre itself, taking them into new

spaces; changing their usual environment gives permission for participants to

engage and ask questions, reflecting on action they had witnessed, making it a form

of experiential learning. The change of venue for the participants’ could remove the

typical teacher/student relationship and encourage a more balanced one and this is

“because of this shared venue, the relationship between them starts to blur”

(Thompson, 1998, p16). This blurring, means that this liminal space is perfectly

suitable for sparking debate and supports the foundations for the actor/participants

relationship. The sharing of the space “seems vital for aesthetic educational

processes in the medium of theatre or performance to succeed in establishing

threshold spaces within pedagogical contexts, and to enable liminal experiences for

28 | P a g e

participants” (Weler & Wulf, 2006, p187) and allows the students to transition from a

lack of awareness for the issue raised to one where there is reasonable knowledge

of the criminal justice system.

In this section, I analyse the way space can affect the engagement with the issues in

TiE. In the theatre, the young participants were welcomed into the story and see the

case unfold. The children also witnessed the arrest of Connor and the police

interview. Although we were in a space that did not in any way represent these

rooms, the illustration from Martin and Rees-Davies strongly supported the

participants before performing the scene. This could be seen particularly by those

participants who played two of the roles in the scene, where the close proximity with

the performers seemed to make a stronger impact. Similarly, towards the end, where

Connor is waiting for his parents to visit, the previous illustration made the space of

the theatre world clear to the audience. When waiting for his parents, I noticed how

two or three children kept looking over towards the door of the ‘visiting room’, as

illustrated by Martin prior to the scene. This may have worked well because of

Johnston’s restrictions of space theory, where “one tactic is to give different

restrictions to different actors” (Johnston, 2006, p249) which creates a stronger

sense of where they might be. Here, Connor was restricted to the chair and to the

pathway he entered, unlike the security guard, who could roam freely. The theatre

space allowed a lot of flexibility for the story, discussion and activities. In the court,

the participants immediately acted differently. The presence of security checks as

they entered and the presence of a real magistrate all add to the formality and status

of the building, which imposed itself on the children. This example of how space has

affected the participants echoes Nicholson when she discusses “…a space is never

empty; it always carries social connotations and it is always someone else’s place”

29 | P a g e

(2009, p61) and also made what first seem an imaginary story to one that was more

real.

The idea of ‘authenticity’ is crucial to analysing the impact of issue based TiE,

evidently from Justice in a Day. By contrast, Angharad Lee used Stanislavski’s active

analysis technique, interpreting authenticity differently and achieving it through the

performance rather than aesthetically. What is most interesting about this is that

Stanislavski’s work is criticised for taking “little account of the psychology of the

audience, assuming that if the individual performances are truthful will necessarily

respond… through a process of empathy” (Braun, 2013, p76). Nevertheless, Lee

introduced active analysis to the rehearsal room. This technique was developed by

Stanislavski in the latter half of his career and wanted to prevent the actors from “too

much sitting round the table and discussing a text” which he felt led to being

“disengaged from their physical resources” (Merlin, 2007, p197). By performing the

actions first, the performer becomes more responsive as they engage with emotions,

the other character and their surroundings. The results of playing with the scene in

different ways and interpreting the scene in your own words, one of the key steps,

the actor is able to find a common understanding with a text. Lee discusses “that the

body discovers thing way before the mind” and that by setting small tasks for the

actors, she is able to “stop them performing and to keep them acting” (personal

communication, March 25, 2018). Although Stanislavski is not recognised as a

significant practitioner in the world of TiE, his significance within the practice of

theatre is well established. Even though TiE work is mainly performed in non-

30 | P a g e

professional spaces, the story and the performance still have to be of high quality to

ensure a sense of honesty 5 .

Limitations

One major limitation from Justice in a Day was during the group discussion on bail

conditions for the protagonist. Here, participants had the opportunity to question the

facilitators, actors and police officers, to explore more. However, the variations within

the group facilitation structure created issues. One group were supported by one

actor and a police officer, meaning that the students, including the more challenging

students, could engage with the discussion through the fictional world of the play or

through asking the police officer about the reality of sentencing.

The second group were supported by Rees-Davies. Evidently, they had a facilitator

who had a huge breadth of knowledge and had done his research in preparation for

any questions directed towards him. However, what the project did highlight was the

challenge of using open discussion with young participants. It was difficult for the

facilitator to engage the participants in open discussion, although, they appeared to

coherently understand Rees-Davies’ suggestions 6 . As Johnston highlights, “One of

the hardest balancing acts is between being challenging and being supportive”

(2005, p72) and in this setting, the facilitator has to lean more towards being

supportive, which would establish a relationship whereby what is discussed. As a

5

Jeremy Turner states, after the tour, “One of them has told us that referrals about children and young people

protection increased after the tour: i.e. more young people had realised, having seen the performance, that

there were ways of solving problems they were experiencing” (personal communication, March 28, 2018).

6

It could be argued here that facilitators and performers can become unaware of the audience. As observed,

when the facilitators got hung up on a interesting fact, there was a danger of them “disappear[ing] into a

whirling riot of feelings and sensations, chasing each one as it appears” (Johnston, 2006, p176).

31 | P a g e

facilitator, it is important to be a leader within the group and challenge the students,

but “You have to be genuinely interested in the group you’re working with” (Brooks

cited in Johnston, 2005, p87) and to always be aware of how the group is feeling,

avoiding the excursion of too much pressure.

When observing the third group, supported only by one actor, I clearly observed

metaxis in practice. Augusto Boal states that metaxis, an essential element of

Theatre of the Oppressed, allows a participant to reach “the state of belonging

completely and simultaneously to two different autonomous worlds” entitled “the

image of reality and the reality of the image… which she herself has created” (Boal,

1995, p43). When I questioned her about her role within those discussions, it was

something she had never thought about, but said that she remained in the role of

Connor’s step-mother. This allowed participants to question a character directly

within a close proximity. This, in terms of metaxis, would sustain the fictional world,

the focus of their discussion, and ensure that the engagement with the performances

were justified. Therefore, the participants’ discussion does not only apply to the

fictional world they are briefly a part of, but to their own lives as well.

The final group were supported by two police community support officers. Although

they may be able to answer the questions of the participants, how much of that is

focussed on the programme is questionable. This group lacked the direction from

someone within the programme to apply the knowledge and discussion of law to the

performance in front of them. And although Martin went between groups to check on

their progress, understandably, he was facilitating the task too, and could not

necessarily give strong support for each group. As a result of these observations,

perhaps a balance in actor/facilitator and police officer would have been far more

appropriate so that there is a focus on the fictional world being discussed, but also

32 | P a g e

the presence of the reality of conditions of bail. Evidently, more thought, training and

rehearsing of this aspect of a TiE programme should be highly valued. This would

then require trials of the programme before touring publicly, which would require

more funding to ensure extra rehearsals could commence.

There are two limitations to SXTO which hinder its overall success. Firstly, it appears

to open itself to criticism when the director acknowledges that the play has “had

young people walk out due to its hard-hitting nature.” (Lee, 2015). Now, this could be

argued to prove how effective the performance was and proves to other clients that

this programme is worthy and powerful. However, it could be argued that the role of

theatre-in-education is to learn from what has been discussed by students and to

dissect the understandings shared; from this quote, it would seem that if young

people were walking out, then surely not all participants would be aware of all the

facts of the production to then take into the discussions post-show. Therefore, due to

each individual child’s experience, not all would have learnt or explored as much as

others in the group. Of course, it is unreasonable for the show to be stopped for

those affected by the nature of the piece, but the structure of this programme could

prevent the participants’ re-entry into the fictional world being presented. From a

welfare point of view, it is clear that the teachers are responsible for this as Arad

Goch were there to perform and provide the material for the discussion afterwards;

from my research, there is no sense of any members from Arad Goch performing a

facilitating role during the performance.

The final aspect of the reinforcement which weakens the whole programme is the

teacher resource pack. Theoretically, the teacher resource pack is a brilliant form of

support for discussions in the class after the performance. And when looking through

the resource pack, handed to the schools, they remain imperative that teachers are

33 | P a g e

present in the show, to ensure that they are aware of the material to be discussed.

Another positive is that they provide a list of contacts for students who may be

affected by the discussion of sexting, as seen in the development process. However,

some of the questions the resource pack uses to raise discussion are questionable.

The focus of the discussion is Sexting, so questions should be about raising

discussion from what was seen from the play, the law around Sexting and the effects

it could have on people involved. Instead, some of the questions below were

involved (Turner, 2014):

• “Is SEXTING worse that physical bullying?

• Did he know what love is?

• What is the boundary between playing (“mucking around”) and sex?”

These sort of questions do not appear to stimulate debate over the subject of sexting

directly. There is no direction from the company with these sort of questions,

especially as my research suggests effective TiE needs to ensure teachers can

interpret and use the resources, are comfortable asking broader, open questions

around complex issues and whether the teachers take these issues seriously

themselves. Not all teachers have the interest or understanding to conduct these

discussions whilst also continuing their core duties as a teacher; producing lesson

plans and assessing work suggests that they do not have time to also plan and then

facilitate these discussions. The resource pack also uses extracts from the play with

accompanying questions to raise further discussion, however, there appears to be a

strong emphasis on discovering who is to blame for the activities. This appears to be

quite a negative take on discussion rather than trying to identify moments where

someone, as Boal suggests with forum, could makes changes to the action. Instead,

the focus is on what had happened and, it could be argued, contradicts one of Boal’s

34 | P a g e

key aims whereby the “original play must present a mistake, a failure, so that the

spect-actors will be spurred into finding solutions” (Boal, 2002, p242). In fact, Boal

discusses how if something needs to be changed, it is that individual who has to

change it. One interpretation of this play could be that it is trying to make oppressors

small, rather than the victims stronger.

Summary

When it comes to the devising of a TiE programme, ethnographic research is critical

to ensure that the programme is factually correct and considers the target audience’s

preconceived ideas of a certain issue. Arad Goch’s forum discussions with 13-15

year old participants shows a real interest in the target age group and about

exploring an appropriate narrative which reflects the issues raised. When it comes to

the performance of the programmes, Justice in a Day appears to have a very

innovative style; the binary form of scene/activity ensures that participants switch

between active and passive roles and the extraordinary use of space challenges

their participants to be prepared to engage. The final aspect of reinforcement is

clearly the most challenging to fulfil; one programme reinforces throughout the day,

but then does not offer any immediate post-programme work. The other does offer

post-show tasks to continue the discussion, however, the content of the post-show

discussion needs to be carefully considered. Ultimately, both programmes

successfully “use theatre as a tool to explore ideas, feelings and values” (Nicholson,

2009, p24) and raise awareness of the focussed topics. However, I am also aware of

the limitations that can hinder the overall outcomes of a programme.

These are just two examples of TiE in Wales which give an idea of what methods are

currently being used to “provoke an argument and not a submissive nod of the head”

35 | P a g e

(Baker cited in Taylor, 1997, p54) when discussing and raising awareness of social

issues. But what about the future?

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5. Conclusion

As seen in the 1990s, the division within Wales caused fierce competition, which

resulted in theatre companies shutting and others becoming hostile towards each

other. From Tim Baker’s perspective, “The north is poor in baseline funding- not the

new money- in comparison to the south” (Wooster, 2007, p135). This is just one

example which divided the two halves of the country. It is imperative that this is

avoided and this means that the communication between companies and funders,

not just ACW alone, needs to improve.

In addition, due to the division over the funding crisis, this has resulted in a lack of

awareness for each other’s styles. In an interview with Jeremy Tuner, he discussed

how the influences for each theatre, again, split the country in half, with the eastern

side of Wales being hugely influenced by TiE in England whereas theatres in the

west, including Arad Goch, looked to Europe for influences in their styles.

Furthermore, it is important that Theatre-in-Education does not “gradually [shift] from

a movement to a theatrical genre… with well-known patterns and repetitive

methodologies” (Nicholson, 2009, p8). By sharing theories and approaches, TiE can

develop. However, to improve on the future of TiE, it is key to analyse “these earlier

paradigms [because they] will themselves contain the future, albeit they have to be

turned upside down first” (Johnston, 2005, p245).

37 | P a g e

6. Bibliography

• Arad Goch. (2014). SEXTING. An interview with Angharad Lee. Retrieved,

27/03/18, from

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHme4QlMh71daxGBa1FbxmU3h_T4

Fa25a

• Braun, E. (2013). The Director and the Stage; From Naturalism to Grotowski.

London; Bloomsbury Methuen Drama.

• Denzin, N. & Lincoln, Y. (1994). Handbook of qualitative research. SAGE

Publications; University of California.

• Hoey, B. (2017). Definition of Ethnography. Retrieved, 10 January 2018, from

http://brianhoey.com/research/ethnography/

• Ireland, V. & Harman, P. (2016), 50 Best plays for Young Audiences; a

celebration of 50 years of theatre-making in England for children and young

people. Twickenham; Aurora Metro Books.

• Johnston, C. (2005). House of games; making theatre from everyday life.

London; Nick Hern Books

• Johnston, C. (2006). The Improvisation Game; discovering the secrets out of

spontaneous performance. London; Nick Hern Books.

• Kleiman, P. (2013). Theatre in education has never been a ‘happy accident’.

The Guardian. Retrieved, 03/04/18, from

https://www.theguardian.com/culture-professionals-network/cultureprofessionals-blog/2013/dec/16/theatre-in-education-history-future

• Merlin, B. (2007). The Complete Stanislavsky Toolkit. London; Nick Hern

Books.

38 | P a g e

• Nicholson, H. (2009). Theatre & Education. Palgrave MacMillan; London.

• Rahman, K & Yeasmin, S. (2012). 'Triangulation' Research Method as the

Tool of Social Science Research. BUP Journal; University of Phoenix.

• Read, A. (2016). Theatre & Law. Palgrave MacMillan; London.

• Shade, R. (2000). “The March of Progress” in Planet no. 139. Aberystwyth;

Planet. Retrieved, 16/03/18, from: http://www.theatrewales.co.uk/critical/critical_detail.asp?criticalID=30

• Shade, R. (2004). Communications Breakdowns; Theatre, performance, rock

music and some other Welsh assemblies. Cardiff; University of Wales Press.

• Taylor, A-M. (1997). Staging Wales; Welsh Theatre 1979-1997. Cardiff;

University of Wales Press.

• Thomas, H. (2016). Arts Council of Wales unveils £27.5m spending. BBC

News. Retrieved, 29/04/18, from www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-35640338

• Thompson, J. (1998). Prison Theatre; perspectives and practices. Jessica

Kingsley Publishers Ltd.; London.

• Turner, J. (2014). SXTO- Cwmni Theatr Arad Goch; teacher resource pack.

Aberystwyth; Arad Goch.

• Weler, T. & Wulf, C. (2006). Hidden dimensions of education. Munster;

Waxmann Verlag.

• Wooster, R. (2007). Contemporary Theatre in Education. Bristol; Intellect

Books.

39 | P a g e

7. References

• Arad Goch. (2014). SEXTING. An interview with Angharad Lee. Retrieved,

27/03/18, from

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHme4QlMh71daxGBa1FbxmU3h_T4

Fa25a

• Bagnall, S. (2018). 'Knife crime is no longer a big city problem' Figures reveal

depth of blade deaths in North Wales. Daily Post. Retrieved, 02/04/18, from

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/knife-crime-no-longer-big-

14176040

• Barton, C. (2014). Theatre|SXTO. Retrieved from:

www.walesartsreview.org/sxto/ on 11/12/17.

• Boal, A. (1995). The Rainbow of Desire; the Boal method of theatre and

therapy. New York; Routledge.

• Boal, A. (2002). Games for actors and non-actors. London; Routledge.

• Braun, E. (2013). The Director and the Stage; From Naturalism to Grotowski.

London; Bloomsbury Methuen Drama.

• Cope, R. (2015). TIE History. Beyondthedoor.co.uk. Retrieved from:

http://www.beyondthedoor.co.uk/centrestage/tie2.htm.

• Cox, C. B. & Dyson, A.E. (1969). Fight for Education, A Black paper. London;

Critical Quarterly Society.

• Denzin, N. & Lincoln, Y. (1994). Handbook of qualitative research. SAGE

Publications; University of California.

• Evans, D. (2017). North Wales Police and Communities Trust. In Fussell, P.

The Draper’s Journal 2017. London; Draper’s Company.

40 | P a g e

• Geertz, C. (1988). Works and Lives: The Anthropologist as Author. Stanford,

California; Stanford University Press.

• Gordon, R. (2006). The purpose of playing: Modern acting theories in

perspective. Michigan; University of Michigan Press.

• Hoey, B. (2017). Definition of Ethnography. Retrieved, 10 January 2018, from

http://brianhoey.com/research/ethnography/

• Ireland, V. & Harman, P. (2016), 50 Best plays for Young Audiences; a

celebration of 50 years of theatre-making in England for children and young

people. Twickenham; Aurora Metro Books.

• Johnston, C. (2005). House of games; making theatre from everyday life.

London; Nick Hern Books

• Johnston, C. (2006). The Improvisation Game; discovering the secrets out of

spontaneous performance. London; Nick Hern Books.

• Kleiman, P. (2013). Theatre in education has never been a ‘happy accident’.

The Guardian. Retrieved, 03/04/18, from

https://www.theguardian.com/culture-professionals-network/cultureprofessionals-blog/2013/dec/16/theatre-in-education-history-future

• Lee, A. (2015). SXTO, Angharad Lee. Retrieved from:

www.asiw.co.uk/reviews/sxto-angharad-lee on 11/12/17.

• Macleod, K. (2015). Drama project helps reduce youth crime in Wales -

ScottishPower. Retrieved, 6 January 2018, from

https://www.scottishpower.com/pages/spfnews_drama_project_helps_reduce

_youth_crime_in_wales.aspx

• Nicholson, H. (2009). Theatre & Education. Palgrave MacMillan; London.

41 | P a g e

• Nicholson, H. (2018). Professor Helen Nicholson - Research - Royal

Holloway, University of London. Retrieved 5 January 2018, from

https://pure.royalholloway.ac.uk/portal/en/persons/helen-nicholson(078ca3baab42-4ccc-9c58-f745456c1f67).html

• PACT. (2018). Justice in a Day 2018. Retrieved from

www.pactnorthwales.co.uk/2018/03/16/justice-in-a-day-2018/ on 02/04/18

• Prentki, T. (2013). A Dog's obeyed in office: Beyond the Boalian binary. In

Torres-Reyes, M. Kritika Kultura (21st Ed.). Quezion City, Philippines: Ateneo

de Manila University.

• Rahman, K & Yeasmin, S. (2012). 'Triangulation' Research Method as the

Tool of Social Science Research. BUP Journal; University of Phoenix.

• Read, A. (2016). Theatre & Law. Palgrave MacMillan; London.

• Shade, R. (2000). “The March of Progress” in Planet no. 139. Aberystwyth;

Planet. Retrieved, 16/03/18, from: http://www.theatrewales.co.uk/critical/critical_detail.asp?criticalID=30

• Shade, R. (2004). Communications Breakdowns; Theatre, performance, rock

music and some other Welsh assemblies. Cardiff; University of Wales Press.

• Taylor, A-M. (1997). Staging Wales; Welsh Theatre 1979-1997. Cardiff;

University of Wales Press.

• Theatr Clwyd. (1994). Artistic Policy Statement.

• Thomas, H. (2016). Arts Council of Wales unveils £27.5m spending. BBC

News. Retrieved, 29/04/18, from www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-35640338

• Thompson, J. (1998). Prison Theatre; perspectives and practices. Jessica

Kingsley Publishers Ltd.; London.

42 | P a g e

• Turner, J. (2014). SXTO- Cwmni Theatr Arad Goch; teacher resource pack.

Aberystwyth; Arad Goch.

• Weler, T. & Wulf, C. (2006). Hidden dimensions of education. Munster;

Waxmann Verlag.

• Wooster, R. (2007). Contemporary Theatre in Education. Bristol; Intellect

Books.

43 | P a g e

8. Appendix

An interview with Angharad Lee, director of SXTO

Dave Humphreys (DH): How did the piece originate? How was it brought up that a

theatre-in-education programme on this issue came about?

Angharad Lee (AL): I was approached by Arad Goch to develop and direct the piece

alongside Bethan Gwanas. They, I believe, had been approached by the local

authority as they had seen a spike in the incidents surrounding Sexting within

Ceredigion schools. Discussions developed and both parties agreed that a theatre

piece with a workshop element attached would be needed to look at this issue

sincerely.

DH: Who were the funders and key organisers of the programme?

AL: Arts Council Wales fund Arad Goch, therefore ACW for sure. I believe the local

authority also funded the project (check with Arad Goch on this).

DH: In my research, you discuss using forum discussions based around a few

scenes that had been written and took them to schools, trying them out to the target

age; what response did you gain from these forum sessions and how did this affect

the devising process?

AL: To begin with, Bethan Gwanas and I visited a secondary school to talk with year

8 and 9 pupils about their experience of Sexting. We discovered there had been

many incidents within the school and one of the girls who was caught up was

44 | P a g e

actually in on one of the sessions. A few girls were obviously affected therefore we

had to be careful with our approach. I designed an open forum discussion in order to

gather a few stories. It was from these stories the scenes were then penned and we

took these scenes into another school and used forum theatre to engage responses

and viewpoints from the learners. I was keen that I did not want to be didactic in my

directorial approach and in providing dramaturgical support for Bethan. The minute

we start talking in doo's and dont's the whole piece falls short as we are not

presenting the reality. We wanted learners to be affected and they visibly were. We

needed to hear the learners genuine opinions on these scenes and their responses

were sometimes surprising in that many of the girls in the room were not initially

supportive of the person who had done or been caught up in the Sexting. From this

Bethan developed a 1st draft of the script. We then gathered at Arad Goch with the 4

actors I wanted to cast in the roles and we developed the script together so that the

actors felt ownership and to give Bethan different perspectives on character analysis

and responses.

DH: In your Arts Scene in Wales, you discuss of how the target audience has

expanded from year 10 and 11 to including year 8s. Did you adapt the piece to suit

the younger audience member? If you did, in what ways did you change the piece?

AL: No we did not adapt. The only aspects we changed were updated vocabulary

around apps and the technology etc.

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DH: Clearly, the piece has proved to provoke reactions, as you state in the same

article that you had some participants chuckling or, due to its hard-hitting nature,

having to leave the room. In the Q&A session after the show, were these moments

brought up? What sort of responses did you get from the piece?

AL: The Q&A was designed to gather truthful responses but also to share

information about the legalities surrounding this subject and to share information

regarding where young people could look for help. There were many moments

during performances where individuals, all girls I believe, had to leave the room

because it was too upsetting for them. We gather these may be the girls who have

been caught up in the past. We divided the audience into 4 segments and each

segment had to represent one of the characters and discuss how it wasn't their fault

that the whole incident had gone so far. This was a great catalyst for the discussions

because even if you didn't think the character you were representing was guilty, you

had to fight their corner.

This revealed all the, what I call, major pressure moments. All the moments where

each of the characters could have made a different choice and put a stop to it all. I

guess this follows the same premise ad forum theatre just in a more exaggerated

way. The learners then came to realise that each character carried some blame due

to the bad choice each of them had made.

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DH: What were the most significant challenges you faced during this whole

programme? There were two I noted from the Wales Arts Review by Cath Barton.

One was the content of the show and how you were able to direct it so that the show

stayed clear of sexualising the drama; how did you go about this? How did you set

this out to ensure it steered away from that?

AL: I always start by finding my 'fundamental question'. I cannot remember what it

was now, but I know it did not hold a sexual intonation. The fundamental question

steers all my choices directorially and ensures I stay true to what I want to say and

show. I guess this is how I steered away from the sexualisation of it all. The whole

piece is about control not sex. It is about making someone do something they don't

want to do or manipulating someone into thinking they want to do something, and

this underpinned everything. There was one scene where we sexualised our

protagonist, but i worked against this with the music I choses and by showing the

grotesque and distorted views young boys hold when they think of sex. Their

viewpoint are based on the porn they watch which is anything but sexual. This was

played with subtly.

DH: The other challenge Barton picks up was on time. How did you manage time for

follow up workshops/Q&A sessions?

AL: The play was 50 minutes. The sessions were 90. This gave enough time for the

actors to have a quick break and then lead on the q&a.

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DH: Finally, who were the key theorists/practitioners that influenced your approach to

this?

AL: I use many practitioners. Boal obviously as we developed the piece with the

learners and then again his methodologies underpinned the q&a sessions. I use

Stanislavsky, and active analysis, believing that the body discovers thing way before

the mind. I anchor my actors in task based exercises always to stop them performing

and to keep them acting. I am heavily influenced by visuals and music also. I see

things before I feel them if that makes sense.

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Title of Project: Explore the use of theatre to raise awareness for young audiences in

Wales about issues within their lives which can affect them

Information:

• My focus in this dissertation is exploring what makes a piece of theatre-in-education

work effectively when exploring issue based topics for young participants. I am

asking for the consent of participants to take part in an interview which will help me

gain an invaluable insight into what made a project that they were involved with

effective, what challenges they may have faced and how they overcame them. I am

also keen to find out what results the programme has had on its intended audience.

• If a one-to-one interview can be facilitated, with the consent of the interviewee, I will

record the interview we have, and then transcribe the recorded interview. I will then

send a copy back to the interviewee to ensure that what I have written is correct and

is not changed in anyway. If an interview cannot be achieved, then contact will be

made via email and the text used from this will be used as a part of my research.

• All data collected will be stored on my personal computer files and under no

circumstance be shared with any other party without consent. The information shared

in the interview will only appear in my dissertation if the participant gives consent to

do so.

Name of Researcher:

Edward David Humphreys

Please initial box

1. I confirm that I have read and understand the information

for the above study and have had the opportunity to ask questions. AL

✓

2. I understand that my participation is voluntary and that I am free to

withdraw at any time, without giving any reason and without my

✓

legal rights being affected. AL

3. I agree to take part in the above study. AL

✓

49 | P a g e

ANGHARAD LEE 28.3.18 A.LEE

Name of Participant Date Signature

Edward David Humphreys 04/01/18 D.Humphreys

Researcher Date Signature

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An interview with Jeremy Turner, Artistic Director of Arad Goch

Dave Humphreys (DH): Who funded the project and what were their aims of the

programme?

Jeremy Turner (JT): Most of our public funding comes from the Arts Council of

Wales. We are also funded by some of the education authorities in Wales to take our

work into their schools. I try to meet annually or maybe every 18 months with

education officers in those counties to discuss our work and ideas for new

productions and projects. In 2010, in one of those meeting, a new problem was

discussed: some young people had been caught texting pictures as a way of

intimidating others; some of the pictures were of a sexual nature. We were asked to

consider ways of using our work to help solve the problem. However, we never offer

solutions. Instead we use our theatre as a way of causing a dialogue, enabling our

audiences to see a glimpse of part of their own behaviour or that of their peers so

that they can appreciate and discuss the themes and issues in an objective way. WE

never directly ask young people about their own experiences

DH: What reactions did you get from the funders when they saw the piece?

JT: Positive.

DH: Did they feel like it met their aims?

JT: yes.

51 | P a g e

DH: What was the process of picking which schools the show visited?

JT: We offer the work to all secondary schools in the counties where we work. Most

accept (especially as most of the cost is already paid)

DH: Are there any statistics suggesting that the programme was successful in

achieving its aims? And if there are, would it at all be possible for me to access

these, to give a fully rounded insight into TIE programmes effectiveness, from

beginning to end.

JT: Yes but we don’t have access to them. After the first tour of the show we were

invited by the Child Protection Officers of three counties to take the show to a new

cohort of pupils. One of them has told us that referrals about child and young people

protection increased after the tour: i.e. more young people had realised, having seen

the performance, that there were ways of solving problems they were experiencing.

DH: And just as a side note, how does the work of Eugenio Barba influence your TiE

programmes generally and if possible specifically SXTO?

JT- Why do you ask? When I graduated, almost 40 years ago, I was something of an

Odin groupie; I did some training and performance with Odin’s performers and

visited them and stayed with them at their work-place in Holstebro. Our work is by no

means Odin-esque, and SXTO is miles away from the work of Odin. But the ethos

and philosophy of Odin’s work still informs my own practice and the work of Cwmni

Theatr Arad Goch – that of continuing training and research for the essence of good

52 | P a g e

theatre and its relevance to a particular audience. Sadly, when I last saw Odin

perform, some years ago in England, their work had not moved on and I saw the

same physicality and heard the same sounds I’d heard 40 years ago.

And to name drop a bit more, I studied on a summer course with LoCoq, I met

Grotowski, I worked with Kai Takei’r Moving Earth form New York …

53 | P a g e

Title of Project: Explore the use of theatre to raise awareness for young audiences in

Wales about issues within their lives which can affect them

Information:

• My focus in this dissertation is exploring what makes a piece of theatre-in-education

work effectively when exploring issue based topics for young participants. I am

asking for the consent of participants to take part in an interview which will help me

gain an invaluable insight into what made a project that they were involved with

effective, what challenges they may have faced and how they overcame them. I am

also keen to find out what results the programme has had on its intended audience.

• If a one-to-one interview can be facilitated, with the consent of the interviewee, I will

record the interview we have, and then transcribe the recorded interview. I will then

send a copy back to the interviewee to ensure that what I have written is correct and

is not changed in anyway. If an interview cannot be achieved, then contact will be

made via email and the text used from this will be used as a part of my research.

• All data collected will be stored on my personal computer files and under no

circumstance be shared with any other party without consent. The information shared

in the interview will only appear in my dissertation if the participant gives consent to

do so.

Name of Researcher:

Edward David Humphreys

Please initial box

2. I confirm that I have read and understand the information

for the above study and have had the opportunity to ask questions.

JGT

3. I understand that my participation is voluntary and that I am free to

withdraw at any time, without giving any reason and without my

JGT

legal rights being affected.

3. I agree to take part in the above study.

JGT

54 | P a g e

Jeremy Turner 29/3/18

Name of Participant Date Signature

Edward David Humphreys 04/01/18 D.Humphreys

Researcher Date Signature

1 for participant; 1 for researcher

55 | P a g e

Figure 4

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Extracts of SXTO teacher resource pack

The following extracts from the pack are highlighted with each colour representing

different thoughts:

• Yellow= positive

• Green= negatives

• Purple= grammatical errors

Figure 5

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Figure 6

Figure 7

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Figure 8

Figure 9

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Figure 10

Figure 11

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Figure 12

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TiE Today in Wales, Author: Edward David Humphreys, University of Chester

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