Rothwell Heritage with Desborough and Rothwell Art Gallery

PLAY PERFORMANCE

Centre Volunteers have taken the skills learnt at The Oral History Training Day held earlier in the year, and we were able to interview a number of local residents about their wartime memories. These memories, along with information from photographs and the county archive, have been fused together to create a unique peice of theatre by Joy Elizabeth.
It was not just about the classic evacuees experiences, it was about how the community was effected - the effect on the schools and families that took them in.

The exhibition outlining the project and our findings, with many local photographs was on show for the first time, and will be on display at the Heritage Centre for a few weeks after the performance.

Phone Joyelizabeth on 01536 356468 or email: je@dramaxperience.co.uk

			Rothwell Heritage Centre
HOME TOWN TRAIL EXHIBITIONS EVENTS FRIENDS DIRECTIONS VOLUNTEERS						TPYF RESEARCH THEATRE EXHIBITION LOANS CARNIVAL
		DEVISED THEATRE PEICE 'EVACUATION IN ROTHWELL'
		PERFORMANCE A SUCCESS		PLAY PERFORMED! Some of the Cast took part in the Carnival Parade on Saturday 12th July. We had an excellent turn out for the Play Performance and Exhibition on Saturday 19th July in the Rothwell Methodist Church.

		PLAY PERFORMANCE Centre Volunteers have taken the skills learnt at The Oral History Training Day held earlier in the year, and we were able to interview a number of local residents about their wartime memories. These memories, along with information from photographs and the county archive, have been fused together to create a unique peice of theatre by Joy Elizabeth. It was not just about the classic evacuees experiences, it was about how the community was effected - the effect on the schools and families that took them in. The exhibition outlining the project and our findings, with many local photographs was on show for the first time, and will be on display at the Heritage Centre for a few weeks after the performance. Phone Joyelizabeth on 01536 356468 or email: je@dramaxperience.co.uk








		Theatre Piece Director Joyelizabeth Surgey I am a freelance Drama Practitioner and I had been briefly involved with a project, “Women of Steel” performed by Corby Women’s Theatre and written by Paula Boulton. This had started with interviews with Corby Women about the steel closures. Then one day in the Rothwell Heritage Centre I came across a copy of the oral archive. I was immediately excited by its potential as source material for a piece of theatre. In the conversations that followed with Cate, we decided to start by focusing on the accounts of Rothwell’s hosting of WW2 evacuees. There had been a talk at the Centre by Jim Wright from the Evacuees Reunion Association which revealed more first hand experiences. I have since met with Jim who has agreed to support us in this project. I hope this might help the work of the centre reach a wider audience. I want to reach people that maybe have not yet discovered the Heritage Centre so I am trying to involve groups of all ages both as participants and audience, and get different generations working together. We will be creating the ‘piece’ through improvisation using the first hand accounts and additional historical information supplied by the research group. This devising will be done in different groups, meeting in the main gallery at the Heritage Centre on Wednesday afternoons and evenings. (There may be another group/ time for people who cannot make Wednesdays.) Rough scripts will be created by this process. Then, with Paula Boulton, our script consultant, I will look at how to put the different parts together. She will then produce a final script for us. When we get the script back we will start more formal rehearsals. During this time we also need people to make props and costumes for us. As part of the performance I envisage projecting still photographs on to the back wall of the stage, again supplied by the Heritage Centre and the research group. We will also need people to help backstage and front of house for the performance. The performance is planned for Saturday 19th July in Rothwell Methodist Church. In the foyer area we shall have an exhibition showing the research material and the process of using it to create the piece of theatre. To provide further publicity for the Heritage Centre and the performance we intend to enter the cast in the Carnival Parade the previous Saturday.












	[HOME] [TOWN TRAIL] [EXHIBITIONS] [EVENTS] [FRIENDS] [DIRECTIONS] [VOLUNTEERS]

Manager: Catherine Earnshaw Rothwell Heritage with Desborough and Rothwell Art Gallery, 14—16 Bridge Street, Rothwell, Northants, NN14 6JW PHONE: 01536 711550 Email: gallery@rothwellheritage.org.uk
					Opening Hours: Monday, 10:30—1:00 Thursday, 10:30—1:00 Friday, 10:30—1:00 Saturday, 10:30 - 1:00