FOR P5 - P7 PUPILS
SEPTEMBER - DECEMBER 2018
My Friend SelmaWhen I was 8 years old, my dad set up a charity to help people in danger escape the war in a place called Bosnia. He brought fifty of them over here on big coaches. We moved into an old boarding school with these refugees, to help them settle in. We lived there for four months. It was brilliant – there was a playground in my front garden, we had lots of visitors, people were always feeding me and I learnt to ride a bike! But the best thing about living there was meeting my friend Selma.
My Friend Selma is the remarkable real-life story of one girl’s journey from war in Bosnia to safety in the UK. It is the tale of an incredible journey, a world turned upside down, loss, friendship, courage and conkers. "Absorbing, affecting but also robustly unsentimental" ★★★★ The Herald “I would give this show 280,00,00 out of 5.” Erin, aged 9 Audience size: 120 Running time: 40 minutes + 30 minutes to look around the accompanying exhibition Space required: clear, flat, uncarpeted hall, with performance space min 5m x 5m x 3.5m Cost: £500 + VAT per day, two performances maximum For dates please contact: TISS@imaginate.org.uk INFORMATION FOR TEACHERSTeachers and children will enjoy the performance without prior knowledge of the story but the information packs below help teachers prepare and link to classroom plans.
For two short films to show your class to prepare your class for a theatre experience in the school hall, one for you and one to show them, please see the RESOURCES section of our website.
MORE INFORMATIONTHE PERFORMANCE
My Friend Selma tells the real-life story of Selma Redzepagic, who fled war in Bosnia with her family when she was eight years old. The family went on a remarkable journey to get to safety in the UK, where they lived in a disused boarding school with fifty other refugees and one British family. The story follows each challenge of their journey, as well as the challenges of settling into a new country and a new way of life. The story has a hopeful ending, as Selma finds a new best friend. The story is told by one performer (who was Selma’s real-life best friend when she was eight). The only piece of set is a climbing frame. The climbing frame is flipped and rolled in surprising configurations cleverly creating the different environments and situations Selma and her family find themselves in. The sound design helps to create a tangible world around Selma helping to change moods and environments as Selma and her family see their world turned upside down and embark on a journey full of tension, humour, peril, joy, sorrow, confusion and ultimately hope. The script, created from the memories of Selma and others who lived in the disused boarding school, offers an authentic insight into the refugee experience. It deals with complex issues of war, refuge and integration in a way that is accessible to young audiences. The whole story is told through the eyes of eight year old Selma. After the performance, the audience will be invited to look around a small exhibition which will be present in the performance space. The exhibition will include photographs, newspaper articles, verbatim accounts from some of the refugees who lived in the disused boarding school, and artefacts from when these refugees first arrived in the UK. It will provide audiences with the opportunity to deepen their engagement with the real-life story behind the performance and ask questions to the performer. The performance is 40 minutes, plus 30 minutes to look around the exhibition. The children will sit on mats with rows of benches and chairs behind. The performer will greet the children as they enter the space and tell them where to sit. LEARNING THEMES & CURRICULUM FOR EXCELLENCE LINKS
I am aware that positive friendships and relationships can promote health and the health and wellbeing of others. HWB 2-44b I understand that people can feel alone and can be misunderstood and left out by others. I am learning how to give appropriate support. HWB 0-08a / HWB 1-08a / HWB 2-08a / HWB 3-08a / HWB 4-08a I can gather and use information about forms of discrimination against people in societies and consider the impact this has on people’s lives. SOC 2-16b I can share my developing views about values such as fairness and equality and love, caring, sharing and human rights. RME 2-05b I am developing my understanding that people have beliefs and values based upon religious or other positions. RME 2-09b ABOUT THE COMPANY
Terra Incognita Arts uses theatre and the arts to share extraordinary stories of ordinary people. The organisation was set up by Victoria Beesley in November 2012 and creates work that is motivated by the desire to tell the stories of people who are traditionally underrepresented and undervalued in both theatre and wider society. We create small scale touring theatre productions that are interlinked and interdependent on participatory projects and workshops. All of our work begins with conversations and engagement with the people whose stories we are telling. The ambition and scope of our work is growing with each new project, and we a building a strong reputation with audiences, participants and theatre professionals alike for delivering high-quality, exciting, honest and imaginative productions and projects. |
Presented by Terra Incognita
Written and Performed by Victoria Beesley Directed by Joe Douglas Sound Design by Danny Krass Performance created with support from Creative Scotland. Exhibition created with support from Heritage Lottery Fund. Photography by James Taylor-Wilson
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