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When I first had the opportunity to be on the steering group of the project, I took the chance to join but didnāt know what to expect.Ā Ā Then I began to learn more about the idea of a community play and how much it can do to bring the community together in a way that has never been done before.Ā Ā The reason I find doing this so appealing is the fact that this is such a big thing for the Dale.Ā Ā Itās a great opportunity to have so many people, doing so many different things.Ā Ā I have always loved drama and have tried a few times to do things to help keep it happening in the Dale.Ā Ā Then this project came along and I couldnāt wait to be involved.Ā Ā Even going to the meetings to help decide what happens next is exciting!Ā Ā Now that the workshops have begun the play will really start to take shape. āThe Bonny Moorhenā is the perfect play to be performed in the Dale.Ā Ā Itās about our lead mining past and how the miners stood up for their rights when times were hard.Ā Ā It demonstrates the power of what we can do together.Ā Ā Iām not saying we should start a riot like they did but we can put on a great show together!Ā Ā To make the project a success we need all the support we can get, even down to the smallest jobs you can think of doing.Ā Ā Whatever you can do will be a big help!Ā Ā Ā There will be workshops taking place in November and December, advertised in many shops and public places in the Dale, and then the big push in the New Year to get the play rehearsed and the set and costumes made.Ā Ā You can visit the website atĀ www.dramadale.co.ukĀ for up to date information or telephone the project co-ordinator Julie Ward on 01388 765002.Ā Ā AND please do check out this blog to get a feel for what itās all about. http://j.mp/oUDWhP [editors note]Ā Adam lives in Frosterley and goes to Wolsingham Comprehensive.Ā Ā He attends Jack Drum Artsā youth theatre sessions as well as helping and working with other community organisations in the Dale such as Daleforce. |
Communication
A new email list has been created for people interested in this production. If you would like to be on it contact s.d.thompson@tees.ac.ukĀ – there is also a sub-list for the Steering Panel.
New Project Plan
Document has been updated and uploaded to the documents store
Adventures in Weardale
Click to enlarge
We arrived at the wonderful Wearhead Primary School on a lovely sunny day. We had a smallish number pass through our workshops. The next workshop at Wolsingham school was better attended and people participated in the drama and music workshop. With these workshops being so far from my home I stayed overnight in Blanchland. This is quite close to where I grew up so my parents came to visit. My mother reminded me that my Grandmothers family came from Blanchland and were landed gentry at Newbiggin Hall until the lands reverted to the crown when the male line died out – perhaps more on that later. On day two we travelled to the 3rd workshop in Stanhope quite close to the Bonnie Moorhen itself. Click on the “more” link to see all the images.
Click link below to see more images
Steering Panel
I have agreed to join the steering panel for the project and tonight we met for the first time at the Emerald Nursery in Frosterley which is the charming former railway station. I met several people for the first time who all have different roles to play in the project. [EDIT The steering panel were to meet at this location throughout the project and beyond. ] I agreed to set up a production website to assist the project development and also an e-list to facilitate communication between the panel members and also to communicate with would be participants. For the task of creating the production website I chose to use āGoogle Sitesā for the functionality of document uploads and event planning it offered. This placed functionality over design which was fine.
To kick start the process of recruiting participants we have decided to run some workshops at the end of the month. I will produce something to promote the digital aspect of the project.
The Battle of Stanhope
I had a meeting with Helen Ward of Jack Drum arts about a new project they plan to run. This will be a community play based on the story of a riot that took place in 1818 in Stanhope, Weardale. The project is Supported by the Adult & Community Learning Fund (ACLF) through the Skills Funding Agency (SFA). There will be workshops aimed at family learning on all aspects of the production. My part would be to introduce a digital dimension to the project. The issue is the civic unrest of 1818 and the plan is to seek to draw a creative cluster around this issue. It therefore, seems that this is an appropriate project for me to feed into the AHRC Creative Clusters project. Below is a fuller description of the project.
1818 may be the closest weāve ever come to a revolution in Britain, due to a famous riot in a pub in Weardale! āThe Battle of Stanhopeā as the event has come to be known, took place on December 7th, when starving lead miners and their families stood up for their rights against the Prince Bishop. It was a hard time for the local population as the end of the Napoleonic Wars had seen a drop in demand for bullets. With little work and no state benefits to buffer them against a hard winter, the miners took to poaching on the Bishopās hunting grounds in greater numbers than usual. The Bishop was furious, and the local landowners and magistrates responded in military style, requesting that the government send troops to root out possible revolutionaries.
Documents from the period are housed in the County Record Office and available for public viewing. They clearly show how every story has two sides. Whilst Lord Darlington describes the poachers as a lawless āSet of Ruffiansā, others perceived of them as ālaborious and industriousā in a āragged and starving conditionā with only rye bread, coffee and tea for sustenance.
You can make up your own mind by going to see a musical play which tells the whole story. āThe Bonny Moorhenā is an award-winning script commissioned by local group Jack Drum Arts, and based on a ballad of the same name. Written by celebrated singer-songwriter Jim Woodland, the play is being performed by members of the local community working in collaboration with professional artists, in a purpose-built theatre inside an agricultural shed on Stanhope Showground. It is an ambitious project which has received support from the Weardale Area Action Partnership along with Ā£66,000 from the governmentās Adult and Community Learning Fund via the Skills Funding Agency. Killhope Leadmining Museum is also involved alongside Daleforce, a āCultural Olympiadā project which aims to improve access to cultural activities for young people in the lead up to and beyond the 2012 Olympics.