TRADITIONAL Italian theatre comes to the streets of Warrington thanks to co-operation between three high schools.
Pupils from Bridgewater, Lysander and Great Sankey High Schools are involved in the performances. The show will be performed in the Old Market place during the week commencing July 12.
The drama form, Commedia Dell’arte, is similar to pantomime and has a range of characters including the goodie, baddie and comedy character with masks used to depict each one.
The idea for the show came from Deborah Luty, advanced skills teacher, at Bridgewater following a request from Warrington Borough Council’s chief executive Diane Terris.
The council has so far donated £5,000 towards costs including costumes, equipment and transport. The project’s aim is to bring schools together and to provide entertainment in the town centre.
Deborah said pupils at Bridgewater helped create the story for the performance of “Poison in the Inn,” after workshops led by Commedia Dell’arte specialist Olly Crick. They used traditional masks to help create characters.
They were allocated characters and improvised scenes – with the story based on their work then created by drama teacher Stewart Coleman.
She said: “It tells the story of three sets of lovers who face misfortunes and mishaps before finally getting together. There are lots of comedy scenes set in the pub, based on events such as mistaken identity.”
In total 23 students from Bridgewater will perform in the show, 15 dancers from Lysander will perform traditional dances and circus skills such as acrobatics to create a carnival atmosphere. Five pupils from Great Sankey are creating traditional medieval music on computers, which will be played on a CD during the show.
Twenty five pupils from a Bridgewater art class have created art work which will be displayed as a backdrop to the performance.
