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Yellow Brick Road

An interactive site-specific project exploring identity and the place of art in our lives

Availability:

Yellow Brick Road was a project that ran for three years in a row funded by Birmingham City Council’s Arts Education Award. If you are interested in similar work please contact info@womenandtheatre.co.uk

Introduction

The Yellow Brick Road was an interactive theatre performance which took young people on a journey of discovery through arts and creativity. Set within the Custard Factory – a thriving arts business centre in Digbeth, the programme allowed the audience to explore real and ‘theatrical’ working environments, along the way meeting actors in-role as artists, as well as genuine people working in the creative industries.

The interactive performance presented a collective of four artists: a dancer, a mixed media performance artist, a photographer and a film maker, who the audience met in a gallery on the eve of an exhibition. They were also considering the work of a new member Nihad who wanted to join the collective, and actively involved the audience in this debate.

The site-specific design allowed close interaction between artists and audience in a variety of thought provoking settings. The script also allowed room for debate about many issues including the judgements we make about art and unfamiliar things, and the place of art in our lives. The character of Nihad, a refugee, also yielded discussion about race, identity and belonging.

Project Aims:

• To share knowledge and explore the possibilities of training & access into the arts
• To specifically target and work with young people who are academically underachieving or have low self esteem
• To demystify the arts by showing it can be a career for anyone regardless of their cultural, social & economic background
• To explore & question pre-conceived ideas of race, identity, creativity and the arts.
• To promote creativity and enhance self esteem
• To depict the realities of working in the creative industries
• To encourage young people to effect their own destiny

The programme was delivered to small groups of 10-15 students at a time, particularly aimed at those with low self-esteem, or who were academically underachieving. They experienced a full-day programme at the Custard Factory and teachers received a resource pack to support follow-up work. Members of the cast then made visits to each school to view/engage with work created by the young people and present them with certificates for participating in the programme.

History

The Yellow Brick Road was devised by Women & Theatre and supported by Birmingham City Council’s Arts Education Award. It was originally developed in 2003 in conjunction with staff and students from the Behaviour Support Centres and was remounted successfully with in 2004, 5, and 6.

Notes

Outcome

“The patience and skill of the cast to engage the audience was fantastic” (Teacher)

“We were learning without knowing it!” (Participant)

Production Credits

Written and Devised by: Michael Aduwali, Janice Connolly, and Cheryl Stott

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