Theatre festival created by Black Country youngsters launching
A new theatre festival produced by young people in the Black Country will launch this June.
B Black Country has taken 150 youngsters aged between eight and 18 years old to put together a programme of events for the organisation's second Young Promoter Festival.
The groups, from Sandwell and Dudley Colleges, Queen Victoria Primary School and Pens Meadow Post 16 in Dudley, George Salter Academy in West Bromwich and Penn Hall School in Wolverhampton, have worked together to come up with the B Black Country name and designed the logo.
Each group chose the shows for the audiences they’re looking to attract, decided on ticket prices, start times and will be organising all of their marketing and publicity, as well as running the front of house for all the events during the festival.
Young Promoter leader, Jane Perks, said that the festival has been a 'brilliant platform to use literacy and numeracy skills taught at school in real life situations'.
“The activities involved are memorable for the youngsters - they have real links with the curriculum that is done through team-led tasks involving an abundance of skills,” she said.
The Young Promoters is a scheme run by Black Country Touring, a local arts organisation.
From subjects such as bullying, through to madcap adventures, aerial acrobatics, flying trapeze and a horror story told in an ice cream van, there are plenty of events to see:
Sidney's Shed - June 5 - Sandwell College, West Bromwich
Sidney's Shed follows the story of Maisie, who is running from bullies and thinks she’s just found the perfect place to hide.
She runs into Sidney Waffles, but the elderly gentleman is no ordinary gardener.
Inventor, explorer and winner of this year’s ‘Best Veg in Show’, Sidney has made some unusual improvements to his allotment and created the world’s first time-travelling shed.
Tickets start from £2.50.
For more information and to buy tickets, click here
Seaside Terror - June 6 - Evolve, Dudley College
In Seaside Terror, creators Odd Doll take a trip to the seaside, where they find more than they bargained for.
The only other inhabitant of the dilapidated pier is a sinister ice cream man, and he’s got some very strange stories to tell including evil seagulls, zombie donkeys, and more.
Tickets cost £3.
For more information and to buy tickets, click here
Da Silva Marionette Circus - June 11 - Queen Victoria Primary School, Dudley
Enjoy all the fun of the circus told through puppets in Da Silva's Marionette Circus.
The dolls can be seen taking part in aerial acrobatics on the flying trapeze, cycling stunts and trampolining.
Audience members will also be able to laugh at the antics of the clowns.
Da Silva's Marionette Circus will also take place at Pens Meadow Post in Pensnett on June 12.
Tickets for these performances start from £2.
For more information and to buy tickets, click here
Great Train Robbery - June 14 - George Salter Academy, West Bromwich
Physical theatre and live music will be brought together in the Great Train Robbery.
Set in 1963, the heist of the century is underway. Signals are scrambled, phone lines cut and millions of pounds in cash is stolen.
Five days later the first clues are found, the gang is busted and the rest is history. But what about the ones that got away?
Tickets start from £2.50.
For more information and to buy tickets, click here
Signor Baffo - June 28 - Penn Hall School, Wolverhampton
Interactive children's show Signor Baffo is coming to Wolverhampton
There’s chaos in the kitchen when Signor Baffo is left in charge.
What's the best way to mix meatballs with spaghetti? How do you make a chicken lay an egg, and how does a sausage roll? All is revealed in Signor Baffo's kitchen.
Tickets start from £2.50.
