Working with Schools

Our relationship with schools is at the core of all our education work at Southwark Playhouse. Through performances and projects we aim to:

Support teachers with the integration of the arts into their curriculum.

Increase the participation of young people with cultural opportunities in their neighbourhood.

Support the development of students’ literacy and communication skills through theatre.

We are always keen to develop new links, so if you are a teacher and would like more information on working with Southwark Playhouse, please contact David Workman, Head of Participation, on 0207 407 0234 or david.workman@southwarkplayhouse.co.uk.

“…a really wonderful experience for our students, one that they will remember forever!”

“I learnt that when you perform, it doesn’t have to be on a grand stage, it could be small but good at the same time.”

Recent projects have included:

Shakespeare for Schools

Long established at Southwark Playhouse, these are exciting, immersive productions of Shakespeare’s greatest plays. Aimed at students aged 10 – 15, tickets are free to schools across the borough. Over the years we have introduced many thousands of young people to Shakespeare and the theatre.

Our most recent production, in January 2022, was Romeo & Juliet

“This interpretation of Romeo and Juliet made my students feel as though Shakespeare could be for them and what a thing to witness! Thank you for making Shakespeare accessible in every sense of the word.”

Future Voices

A major new writing project for South London, running since September 2017. Schools across the capital will select students with a skill for writing. Across two terms they are mentored by a professional playwright, culminating in a performance at Southwark Playhouse by professional actors of a short piece they have written.

Future Voices 2020 went virtual – when we couldn’t show the students’ work onstage, we decided to adapt them for film. See all ten films here.

Primary Playwrights

This project sees us work regularly with KS2 students in local primary schools. Working with professional playwrights across a half term, they write short plays in groups which are then performed onstage at Southwark Playhouse. Recent projects have seen us look at themes as diverse as the Windrush and Outer Space.

Cherry Garden School

Over many years, Southwark Playhouse have worked with Cherry Garden Special School in Bermondsey to provide support and direction for a range of projects with students at all ages in the school, including the annual Christmas production, and smaller-scale film projects. See more on the BBC website here.

The Odyssey

Year 6 students worked with Year 7 students from a local school to retell The Odyssey, as a means of supporting the younger students face their worries over their imminent move up to secondary school – culminating in a performance for friends and family onstage at Southwark Playhouse.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Retold

To tie in with a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, three local primary schools each took one strand of Shakespeare’s play, and devised a new performance around it, sharing these in front of each other and their friends and family, onstage at Southwark Playhouse.

The Next Stage Festival

GCSE and A-Level drama students bring the pieces they have devised for their exams to Southwark Playhouse, to have the chance to perform on a professional stage.

PLAYGround

Primary schools work with professional playwrights and directors to devise and create new pieces of theatre.

Discounted tickets and workshops

For some productions at the theatre we are able to offer free or reduced-price tickets to schools. In addition, we often also provide free supporting workshops, where possible utilising the professional creative team behind the production to provide a fascinating insight into creating theatre.

One-off Projects

We have worked with schools on bespoke projects, including supporting the East Dulwich Literary Festival at Harris’ Girls Academy East Dulwich, and students’ speaking and listening exams at a number of local secondary schools.