REVIEW
FRIEND
Community Showcase
July 6th at Leigh Community Centre - 7.45pm
FRIEND
Community Showcase
July 6th at Leigh Community Centre - 7.45pm
A hugely topical and hard-hitting play about gangs
Did you know that there are over 30,000 children in this country who are members of gangs? I’m not talking about the gangs which perhaps you and I would have formed with our best mates when we were kids and hung out with at weekends, I’m talking about real, criminal knife and gun wielding gangs whose business is to deal with hard hitting drugs and sex trafficking; whose membership includes the type of people who have no hesitation in luring vulnerable children, sometimes as young as 10 years old, into their lair and then go on to completely exploit them physically and emotionally for their own needs.
The statistics show that already this year thousands of gang related knife attacks and killings have taken place in the UK with children as young as 15 years old being the tragic victims. Sadly, children as young as 15 years old are also being charged with these murderers.
Did you know that there are 21 identifiable gangs just in Southend? Gang members from London are coming to Southend to recruit our young people - some as young as 12 years old. Since 2014 over 200 drug gang members have been identified as working in Southend. There is concrete evidence that gang members possess knives on the streets of Southend.
Over the last 2 weeks N-Act Theatre have been performing the play, Friend, in schools to raise awareness of these horrific statistics and highlight not only to children but also to teachers, carers and parents just how easy it is to get swept into the gang lifestyle and culture and, even more shockingly, just how difficult it is to escape from these horrific circumstances once they have become trapped in this lurid world.
Sharon Williams is N-Act’s Artistic Director. As well as writing the play, she also performs in it too alongside the talented, Alice Ryan, Anton Thompson and Louis Jordan. Incorporating into the performance, mime, physical theatre and improvisation, they cleverly portray various characters throughout the showcase.
The statistics show that already this year thousands of gang related knife attacks and killings have taken place in the UK with children as young as 15 years old being the tragic victims. Sadly, children as young as 15 years old are also being charged with these murderers.
Did you know that there are 21 identifiable gangs just in Southend? Gang members from London are coming to Southend to recruit our young people - some as young as 12 years old. Since 2014 over 200 drug gang members have been identified as working in Southend. There is concrete evidence that gang members possess knives on the streets of Southend.
Over the last 2 weeks N-Act Theatre have been performing the play, Friend, in schools to raise awareness of these horrific statistics and highlight not only to children but also to teachers, carers and parents just how easy it is to get swept into the gang lifestyle and culture and, even more shockingly, just how difficult it is to escape from these horrific circumstances once they have become trapped in this lurid world.
Sharon Williams is N-Act’s Artistic Director. As well as writing the play, she also performs in it too alongside the talented, Alice Ryan, Anton Thompson and Louis Jordan. Incorporating into the performance, mime, physical theatre and improvisation, they cleverly portray various characters throughout the showcase.
Relayed dramatically but with moments of humour injected into the hour long production, the actors re-tell the true story of Amy, a teenage school girl, who gets lured into a gang. The play takes us initially to a court room scenario where Amy is being charged for murder, despite the fact that she wasn’t the one who actually committed the crime. This is the first time we are introduced to the realisation of what ‘joint enterprise’ means and the impact it can have over any member of a gang. Joint Enterprise basically means that whether or not you were the one to kill a person, if you were present when a member of the gang you belong to committed the murder, you too can be convicted of murder and face a sentence of life imprisonment. We also find out that being involved with a gang can affect getting into university, college or further education, your chances of getting a job and even travelling abroad.
The play takes us back to why and how Amy became involved with the gang and explores the choices that she made at that time. Would there have been anything her friends or family could have done to change any of those choices? The audience is the jury and we decide. There are some hard hitting facts to swallow here and there is no simple pill to make everything better for Amy. The fact that this is a true story certainly helps to pack a punch and produces plenty of thought provoking moments for any child, young adult, parent, carer or teacher who get to watch this play.
Friend is a real eye-opener and any parent with a busy lifestyle who has just once zoned out while their child has been trying to tell them something, will feel a pang of guilt. It’s easy to forget what being a teenager feels like and even more so when they are faced with pressures of today’s social media obsessed society, where children and young adults can often feel that they have no control and can be dominated by peer pressure.
The play takes us back to why and how Amy became involved with the gang and explores the choices that she made at that time. Would there have been anything her friends or family could have done to change any of those choices? The audience is the jury and we decide. There are some hard hitting facts to swallow here and there is no simple pill to make everything better for Amy. The fact that this is a true story certainly helps to pack a punch and produces plenty of thought provoking moments for any child, young adult, parent, carer or teacher who get to watch this play.
Friend is a real eye-opener and any parent with a busy lifestyle who has just once zoned out while their child has been trying to tell them something, will feel a pang of guilt. It’s easy to forget what being a teenager feels like and even more so when they are faced with pressures of today’s social media obsessed society, where children and young adults can often feel that they have no control and can be dominated by peer pressure.
However, knowledge is power and anyone who gets the opportunity to see this play will, hopefully, get more of an insight into what teens have to deal with on a day to day basis and understand how easy it can be to make wrong choices when not seemingly having a voice, or to be able to talk to someone, about the pressures they are under.
During the two weeks of touring schools in Essex and London, 98% of the 1,500 students who saw the play said that they now knew what signs to look out for and what to do about it if they or a friend were trying to be recruited into a gang by someone. The same percentage also expressed a desire for the company to return with another show. Considering that 59% of the children surveyed said that they had little or no experience of theatre, this has given the company the impetus to continue with their task of educating children to the dangers of gang culture within the community and continue to carry a vitally important message not just to children in schools but also to the parents and carers too.
During the two weeks of touring schools in Essex and London, 98% of the 1,500 students who saw the play said that they now knew what signs to look out for and what to do about it if they or a friend were trying to be recruited into a gang by someone. The same percentage also expressed a desire for the company to return with another show. Considering that 59% of the children surveyed said that they had little or no experience of theatre, this has given the company the impetus to continue with their task of educating children to the dangers of gang culture within the community and continue to carry a vitally important message not just to children in schools but also to the parents and carers too.
This hard hitting and topical play is suitable for year 9 upwards.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE SHOWCASES AND HOW TO GET TICKETS GO TO:
Website: www.sharonwilliamseducational.co.uk
or email: sharon_williams100@outlook.com
Twitter: @NActTheatre
Facebook: N-Act Theatre In Schools
Call: 07546 559987
There is an Information Sheet given to everyone attending the play with lots of FAQs and telephone numbers below for anyone needing help or advice.
Be aware, be responsible, be safe
Gangsline - 07753 351256
Childline - 0800 1111
Crimestoppers -0800 555 111
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE SHOWCASES AND HOW TO GET TICKETS GO TO:
Website: www.sharonwilliamseducational.co.uk
or email: sharon_williams100@outlook.com
Twitter: @NActTheatre
Facebook: N-Act Theatre In Schools
Call: 07546 559987
There is an Information Sheet given to everyone attending the play with lots of FAQs and telephone numbers below for anyone needing help or advice.
Be aware, be responsible, be safe
Gangsline - 07753 351256
Childline - 0800 1111
Crimestoppers -0800 555 111
What audiences have said so far...
Students
- It was informative and fun and was a good mix of funny and serious to help us learn about gangs
- I enjoyed the gameshow because you got to see what could change
- Showing us in the end how Amy spent time in prison and she still went back to the gang. It just shows me how scarey it is and how much of a problem it is. Also reading out the names of victims shows me that it’s a real problem
- The improvisation giving the audience a chance to engage with the characters.
- The Jamaican mum added comic relief to a deep subject yet told a story. Forum theatre was enjoyable – made us part of the performance
- This should be shown to more schools. It was very impacting and overwhelming
- I think this will have a huge impact on our generation as they can see what really happens when you’re involved with the wrong crowd.
- It’s an issue that parents should be more aware of and educated about, if not more than children
- I liked the fact that it was about a girl who was recruited. It broke stereotype
- The statistics at the end made the issue real and emphasised the whole production
- It was a superb performance. I felt really captivated and it was evoking of emotion and helped me not only as a teacher but a parent. Great handout also!!
- Being part of the performance; very thought provoking. Excellent performers – could see how much passion you all have
- The dramatic depiction of the gang (race/gender neutral). The double parent telling off child (culturally aware). The different perspectives of same story.