New Regents College Arts Week
Posted on 9th Jul
As part of NRC Arts Week KS3 pupils went to the Arcola Theatre to see an exciting piece of forum theatre performed by the touring theatre group ‘Futures Theatre’. It was a hard hitting play called Sugar & Spice, a piece exploring sexual coercion, peer pressure and gang mentality amongst young people. The pupils had the opportunity to become involved in a discussion at the end of the play including active participation in acting on stage. They all had a fantastic time and the thought-provoking play continued being discussed days later by the young people. Our learners were so well-behaved and participated with such enthusiasm that the Theatre Manager called New Regents College to say how impressed she was with our pupil’s behaviour and that they were a credit to us.
Here are some of the pupil’s reviews of the play:
Sugar and Spice
We went to the Arcola Theatre, it was amazing. We watched the performance of Sugar and Spice and it was really interesting , made me think about how often things like that happen in the world. It also taught me not to let peer pressure get to me. In the theatre we got a chance to perform with the great young actors. I loved it, every last minute of it. It was phenomenal as a young actor it made me feel more confident and made me love drama even more. The actors we saw yesterday were better than some I see in big movies. The emotion was terrific, the drama astounding, the plot was surprisingly interesting and I enjoyed every minute of it. I wanted to be them , they were doing something they loved and that’s what I wanted to do; that’s what I want to be … so seeing that gave me a hope, hope that dreams can come true.
I only got a few minutes on stage but I loved it, making people laugh, changing the outcome, it was so much fun…that story had a bigger story which I felt like I really understood. We also had a real mature conversation at the end.
Oshan Burrell Y9
Sugar and Spice
After lunch we departed school and got on the minibus to the Arcola Theatre to watch an act called Sugar and Spice. It was amazing how they were acting without forgetting the script and it was exciting that they let us act with the actors. The Arcola Theatre is in Dalston in the minibus it wasn’t a very long journey but we got there on time. The characters are Gabriel (Love Struck Man), Lewis (Gabriel’s Boy), Raceen (Sasha’s Best friend) and Sasha (in my opinion the main character). The story was about how Gabriel wanted to find and stick to one girl without going to the club and picking up some next ‘ting’ and settling down with her. He found Sasha and it was love at first sight but the Lewis got jealous and tried to separate Gabriel and Sasha by getting an inappropriate picture of Sasha. Then Gabriel got mad left Sasha and went to Chef up Charlie i.e stab Charlie. The most interesting part was when I went up and performed with Sasha. The advice I would give to the characters would be Gabriel shouldn’t have left Sasha just because she had a previous boyfriend because if you love her you wouldn’t leave her no matter what. For Sasha be able to say no to people. For Lewis find yourself a girl and stop getting jealous, it don’t look good on you. And for Rasceen your bars kind of bang, just get them to bang better than they are at the moment.
Romaine Y9
Sugar & Spice
Sugar & Spice is a play and Forum Theatre workshop for young people aged 13+. It challenges attitudes around gender stereotypes and asks the audience to explore what it means to be a young person growing up in London today.
The two friends Gabriel and Lewis are ex-gang members who have given up the life of crime and murder.
The other two friends Sasha and Racine are best friends who are trying to make it in the music business with Sasha as Racine’s manger.
Sasha: is a young teen that has done some very sexual things to put it in their words she has had a lot of experience.
Gabriel: is an ex-gang member who has given up the life of crime as he can’t handle the deaths and having to be on guard for the rest of your life. He is also a young teen who wants to settle down with one girl.
Lewis: is Gabriel’s best friend who used to be an ex-gang member who has given up to life of gangs because of Gabriel who must have convinced him to give up the gang life but he still wants to live it again but is not going to join it again without his friend Gabriel joining it again. Lewis is also a young teen who doesn’t want to settle down with one girl
Through watching the play, the audience are exposed to the reality of gangs, peer pressure and sexual pressure amongst young people. After the performance the audience are invited to get involved as actors and directors to change the story for the characters as they see it should happen. The facilitated forum workshop stimulates reflection and debate from the young/old audience members and, through performing their chosen alternative stories; we see how the audience might navigate through their own worlds whilst changing the world of our characters.
Tyrese Edwards Y7
Hackney Art Show
New Regents College KS3 has, for the first time, been invited to show the pupil’s art work at the prestigious annual Hackney Art Show. The exhibition is a showcase of new art work created in schools and colleges in Hackney this year. It celebrates the work of young artists in Hackney. We were honoured to be a part of the exhibition.
As part of New Regents College Arts Week all pupils went to see the Art Show, held in the stunning Hackney Assembly Hall.
Pupils were both proud to see their own work hung in such an impressive venue and inspired by the amazing art work on display from schools around the borough.
