Manchester Arts Education Initiative delivers interactive theatre projects either in site specific locations (currently Victorians/Edwardians at Victoria Baths Manchester or Tudors at Ordsall Hall Salford) or in school. These projects, delivered by Peter Wilkinson and Russell Armstrong, provide INSET for teachers by allowing them to observe drama workshops taking place with their pupils. The projects combine elements of performance demonstrating the technique of teacher in role with drama workshops for the pupils exploring major themes from British history.

CAPE UK AND ESME FAIRBAIRN STUDY - 'probably the most effective teacher training model in the UK....... Profound.'

HMI STUDY - 'Outstanding'

EXCELLENCE IN CITIES - 'A beacon of excellence'

The common theme in all 5 projects is Citizenship. The cross curricular opportunities are also extensive, embracing English, Geography, History, Art and Science, in addition to the core drama experience delivering the narrative.

Ancient Egypt– 4 Sessions. KS 2 - £800

Saltimbanques - 4 Sessions. Upper KS 2 - £800

Fire of London - 3 Sessions. KS 1/2 - £600

Titanic - 4 Sessions. Upper KS 2, 3/4 - £800

Tudors – 4 Sessions. KS 2 - £800

All prices are based on schools within Greater Manchester. Schools beyond this area require additional travel/ accommodation fee TBA

Each session lasts approximately 2 hours.

Current Projects:

ANCIENT EGYPT

Ancient Egypt will introduce pupils to the beliefs informing the major institutions of the society including the role of the Pharoah and the Temple priests who controlled access to the great deities, and the domestic gods and rituals of ordinary people.

SALTIMBANQUES

Saltimbanques is a project to compliment work on the Victorians and provides a fascinating child centred study of social conditions in the second half of the nineteenth century. The Narrative of the project creates an imaginary back story to the characters in Picasso’s 1905 masterpiece ‘The Family of Saltimbanques’.

THE FIRE OF LONDON

This project engages pupils with the intensity of a catastrophic event, by focusing on the loss of public records, buildings, possessions, livelihoods and life involved, and looks at the way citizens behaved in the face of such enormous challenges.

TITANIC

The project will explore social conditions of the period including crucially the position of women in Edwardian society. It will also explore the dynamics of the relationships of all involved during the building, sailing and sinking of the TITANIC and continues into the Aftermath of the disaster including the Board of Trade enquiry, the media legacy and the consequences in the lives of the rich and famous and the destitute.

TUDORS

The project is an oblique look at the Reformation through the experience of Henry VIII bibliographer John Leland. Leland’s job was to catalogue the libraries of the monasteries and abbeys of Medieval England in an attempt to find authoritative precedence for Henry’s claim to independence of Rome. While Leland travelled England, Henry pursued Anne Boleyn. Other key figures in this narrative are Katherine of Aragon, Thomas Wolsey, Thomas Cromwell, Thomas More and Mary and Elizabeth.