Ovalhouse presents Summer’s Young, a festival of four performances and one big discussion with the aim of creating a Youth Manifesto. It addresses negative perceptions of young people in the media as part of the nationwide Truth About Youth project
Summer’s Young plays at the Ovalhouse 19th to 27th July 2013.
Summer’s Young places an emphasis on engaging and empowering London’s young people by uncovering hidden creative talents and giving them a stage to explore them. The year-round project works with hundreds of 16-25 year olds from across south London, and facilitates interaction with a variety of sectors including the media, the police and local shopkeepers. Working with a team of Young Associates, participants work with other young people to address how they feel about the way they are represented in the media, and to create adventurous theatre which tells a different story.
Truth About Youth is a 5-year national project undertaken by The Co-operative Foundation. It delivers a nationwide programme of activities, performances and art workshops designed to develop young people’s confidence, communication and leadership skills. Of the seven nationwide partners, Ovalhouse is the chosen charity partner for London. Through the project, young people use their energy and talent to highlight the issues they face today as well as promoting positive attitudes.
Summer’s Young places talented young people from Ovalhouse at the centre of four fantastic productions. Supported by leading theatre artists, the programme features gritty visceral drama, haunting photography, audience interaction and the real truth about youth.
From A to B, Downstairs, Fri July 19th, 4pm
Experimental and visually exciting, Photofusion and Ovalhouse are working together with a group of young people from The Prince’s Trust to push the boundaries of performance; exploring the space where visual art, spoken word and theatre meet. Their work reflects on their pasts and dreams about their futures. From A to B is part of Ovalhouse’s highly successful Back on Track project, which has been using the arts to support inclusion for over a decade. Originally founded in 1979, Brixton-based Photofusion has metamorphosed from a small collective of documentary photographers to becoming London’s largest independent photography resource centre.
Rewind and Play, Upstairs, July 19th, 6pm
Doors is an exciting, interactive piece of theatre that examines the challenges of being young and living in the city. Rewind and Play is a year-long drama and self-development programme for young Londoners, building confidence and employability skills. Workshops range from drama skills and improvisation, to Forum Theatre. This work is underpinned by the principle of using drama for empowerment, understanding and change.
Who Cares? Downstairs, Wed 24th – Sat 27th July, 7.30pm
A company of young Londoners…a stage…everyday something new happens in our city…everyday something good, something bad…When 5 people are required to attend a workshop day for young carers, they are forced to challenge each other about what is true. Through a series of emotionally violent confrontations, they try to help each other towards a more honest understanding of the situation they are in.
Running time 90 mins approx
Roads, Upstairs, Weds 24th to Sat 27th July, 6pm
It’s a big bad world out there, full of pitfalls and hazards for young people trying to seek their fortune. Roads follows the stories of three young people leaving home for the first time. See how each of them fares on their dangerous and confusing journeys, and find out who comes back a winner and who loses it all. Roads is a devised performance by the Ovalhouse We Are London drama group, and draws on the folk stories of many countries as well as contemporary urban narratives. We are London is an Ovalhouse project for young migrants and their friends. This year the group has been working with artist John Morales, Stella Barnes, Carrie Hage and Robyn Kirby.
Big Discussion, Thu 25th July, following Who Cares?
Hosted by Dean Atta and Whitney Asbourne.
In a special evening dedicated to listening to young people, Ovalhouse has issued an open call to help create a shared Youth Manifesto. Placing an emphasis on letting young people have their say about youth today, the event offers the chance to openly discuss and debate pejorative representations of youth, and to create a collective Youth Manifesto in response. Having set the opening topic for discussion as “Young People Must Not Listen To Loud Music In Public”, Ovalhouse is also inviting participants to submit their own policies in the Big Discussion’s manifesto. Hosted by renowned artist Dean Atta and Truth About Youth Young Associate Whitney Asbourne, the discussion will also include a panel of top industry professionals including Spoken Word artist Inua Ellams and artistic collective Art Against Knives, amongst others.
See www.ovalhouse.com or facebook.com/truthaboutyouth for more details.
