On Saturday 10th March, 2012 over 50 of our lower school group went on our educational visit to the Darlington Civic Theatre to see ‘Swallows & Amazons’ This piece of theatre was based on the novel by Arthur Ransome and presented by the Children’s Touring Partnership. Before the show the group had a private tour of the theatre and were treated to a presentation from Natalie which detailed the history of the theatre and associated spooky stories! Many of them gasped as they were led into the auditorium. For many it was their first visit to the theatre and it was clear for all to see that the majority of them were immediately gripped by the magic of theatre.After the private tour the young people sat mesmerised by the beautiful production of Swallows and Amazons. The production was clever, inventive and magical. The children were gripped from beginning to end and were truly taken on a journey of escapism. They thoroughly enjoyed the participation element towards the end of the production which saw them throwing rocks onto the stage and passing a boat from the front to the back of the auditorium.
At the end of the performance the children were delighted to be informed that they were to be invited up onto the stage to have a private talk with the Company Stage Manager Robin Longley. Robin talked everyone through the set design and even allowed the young people to touch the set. This really brought the production to life for the children and gave them an opportunity to see how real items can be combined to create fantasy on stage. The young people at Enter really enjoyed the performance and got a real feel for theatre. We would like to thank Simon Stewart (Enter CIC Volunteer Educational Theatre Trip Coordinator) for organising this fantastic trip.
