BROMLEY

Bromley Creative Learning were delighted to develop a brand-new co-production during May half term working in partnership again with StoryMakers productions. Buster Bunny the Final Chapter is the third and final part of the Buster ‘Trilogy’ that has delighted audiences over the past three years.  

The Churchill Studio was transformed into a storybook of wonderful tales, following Barnaby and Space Girl on their quest to find Buster, the original StoryMaker. With original songs such as the haunting ‘Pass it On’ and music, this fast paced, interactive, and sensory show with lots of audience participation; was an action packed 50 minutes for audiences of one and upwards. 

DARTFORD

In preparation for this year’s Summer Youth Project of Bring It On, the cast met up for the first time at a cheer camp at Acacia Sports Hall. Working hard all day, they learned acro moves and took part in flexibility exercises. The cast all did amazingly well and after assessment the acro coach decided they were competent to do area work. So, this year’s cheer comp we will fly….. 

GUILDFORD

Creativity and Wellbeing Week
To mark and celebrate Culture, Health and Wellbeing Week, Creative Learning opened up the G Live doors to run a series of community events for their audiences, general public and staff. A Peter Pan inspiredStaff Craft Café and Cake Morning saw staff working together to create their own Peter Pan sets and staging concepts. The designs were truly innovative and very creative!

We also used this opportunity to run a ‘Spring Clean for Wellness’ corner, where staff brought in their unwanted items to donate to The Hive, a family community space in Guildford. And our fabulous SYP Musical Director, Daniel Loosely led a choir made up of members of our local communities and staff in ‘Sing for Your Soul’ in The G Live Café. Everyone came together to rehearse a verse and chorus of Walking on Sunshine.

May Half Term 
How to design your own video game, bake your own cakes and become a technical theatre wizard were our focuses for this year’s sold-out May Half Term activities. Two of our workshops were created in-house and were both a huge success! We want to thank all of our departments for their unfaltering support and enthusiasm during the week. Our very own Venue Director Andy Locke took on the role of Paul Hollywood and awarded the star baker at the end of Fake It Til You Bake It workshop!

HAYES  

Refugee Week is the world’s largest Arts & Culture festival celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of people seeking sanctuary. The theme for this year is ‘Our Home’; from the places we gather to share meals to our collective home, planet earth: everyone is invited to celebrate what our Our Home means to them. The Beck Theatre welcomed Compass Collective, Zhvan Theatre Company, St Mary’s Ukrainian School, Brunel University and Trinity Homelessness Charity and others who all shared what home means to them.

Leap into Action for SYP!
Get ready for a high-flying adventure! This week, The Beck’s very own Steve Sergeant (Theatre Director) and Charlotte Young (Creative Learning Manager), took a giant leap—literally! Skydiving from 10,000 feet, and freefalling for 30 seconds at a heart-pounding 125mph, they daring duo were raising money for The Beck’s Summer Youth Project (SYP), generously funded by the Trafalgar Entertainment Trust. This year’s SYP production is the fabulously fun Legally Blonde, featuring around 100 talented young people.

CREWE

This May Half Term, Crewe Lyceum welcomed over 30 young people aged 8-18 who took part in our Scriptwriting and Directing Workshop and our Musical Theatre Masterclass. They developed their imaginations as they wrote short plays, monologues, and duologues, using pictures as inspiration for their pieces. They also learnt dances, songs and famous scenes from the smash hit musicals Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Six! They shared back what they had created at the end of the workshops with friends and family in our Studio Theatre.  

SOUTHEND

Over the May Half Term, we hosted a range of activity for young people and families across Southend Theatres. A highlight for our participants were our Acting Through Song Workshops, held on the main stage at the Cliffs Pavilion and led by a local industry expert. The workshops provided young people with an opportunity to develop their musical theatre skills and learn and build two performances each, which they then showcased to friends and family at the end of the session. We were delighted to have over 60 participants, ranging from ages 6 to 21.  

WYCOMBE

We were delighted to welcome a group of 20 Scouts from Wycombe into our building this month. Their volunteer leaders had previously had lots of requests for a Backstage Tour at the theatre, and they were a great group. Emma Davies (Building and Technical Manager) and Elle Pethurst (Creative Learning) showed them the Oak Room, Old Town Hall and main stage, and the group even got a visit to the fly floor!