11/07/2007
Safety play hits the road
THE curtain has gone upon a new play aimed at cutting the number of accidents involving teenage pedestrians.
The play, which is touring secondary schools in the city, is a collaboration by the Council's Road Safety Team and the Valley Theatre.
It starts with the audience being asked to 'Imagine a teenage boy and a teenage girl drunkenly making their way down a busy road to a friend's party. They begin to play fight and push each other about and finally she pushes him into the road...'
The play, funded by a £13,000 grant for the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund was written and produced by a forum of young actors and writers all aged between 12 and 18 years old. It is based on information that the Road Safety Team provided about the increasing number of pedestrians, aged between 12 and 15 years old, involved in road collisions.
This is the second time the Road Safety Team and the Valley Theatre have worked together. The previous multi-media production highlighted the dangerous trend of young girls getting into cars as passengers when the male driver have been drinking and taking drugs, as well as the dangers of drink and drug driving.
Cllr Mike Storey, Executive Member for Regeneration, said: "Using Theatre in Education allows the Road Safety Team to reach a large audience and an audience that can be tough to get through to.
"The students can relate to the characters, maybe even seeing themselves behaving like the characters. Hopefully this will influence their behaviour on the roads for the better."
Students also have the chance to ask the actors questions about the production and the road safety issues it raises and there are workshop packs that the teachers can complete with the students.
ENDS
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