Theatrical Community Cohesion Event

On 1st of December 2009 the theatre company – Hearts and Minds visited Connaught school as part of the Khyaal Project – a group looking at the issues of preventing violent extremism. The company performed a thought provoking 1-hour piece of theatre for all Year 8 students that was both interesting and exciting. The students found the theatrical performance of great value, with some students pointing out some of the key themes of discrimination, alienation, identity, racism, violent attitudes and extreme beliefs as well as issues of terrorism.

After a short break the theatre company conducted four 1-hour workshops to the students in their tutor groups. The workshops focussed on identifying and responding to extremist viewpoints that were similar to those expressed in the theatrical performance. The students again found this beneficial as well as fun and interesting, with many students talking about the success of their work and learning, with some developing a sense of personal philosophy in no small part. Overall the whole event was a success amongst both the students and the teachers that took part.

The evaluation of the event was extremely positive with many students describing how the event had highlighted the importance of integration and elimination of discrimination. The evaluation contains many comments from students. When asked about what they had enjoyed about the performance, comments included:

• “I liked the performance because now I believe I shouldn’t be afraid of who I am, how I dress, how I show my actions.”
• “I enjoyed the performance because it was inspiring and it taught us about racism and hope and care.”
• “It taught me not to be prejudiced against other people, and because I don’t understand things it doesn’t mean it’s bad.”

When asked what their favourite parts of the session were, comments included:

• “In the performance I liked when Asif started to care about his religion. In the workshop I liked acting out the anger of Asif.”
• “The part when he was getting wrapped up with the flags and he was getting caught up with his identity.”
• “When I got to act out what each character did and when they started protesting.”

When asked what the performance/workshop made them think about, comments included:

• “Racism, love, hate, freedom, courage and stereotypes.”
• “How our society actually is and how we can change it.”
• “It made me reflect on the world around me and I have taken more things into consideration.”

Hearts & Minds 011209 - Full Evaluation.pdf (267.99 kB)