Katie Bignell, SMR's Youth Community Worker, writes about the Community Theatre activities held over the Christmas holidays:

As part of our Winter Holiday activity and food programme we offered a valuable opportunity to our local community to participate in a two-day Theatre experience. The local children were immersed in a heart-warming adventure when we facilitated a trip to the Bristol old Vic to watch The Little Mermaid.

It was many of our children's first Theatre experience and it was so heartwarming to see them light up as they were swept away into a magical story of dance, music and unique characters touching on some very important themes relevant to our current world. 

These themes such as environmental impacts on our oceans, cultural expression and how we build a better world through reaching out, caring and integrating fully with those around us, were further explored when we facilitated a Theatre workshop the following day.

The children had the opportunity to set the scene through set design, developing their own characters and recreating their own version of the story, relevant to them, their cultures and their experience of the world.

They thrived and really flourished in developing new skills and confidence whilst having the opportunity to be creative with Visual arts and Expressive Arts alongside Music and games.

This is the second year we have facilitated a Theatre experience incorporating a trip to the Bristol Old Vic with an interactive Theatre workshop the following day. Each time it happens it is pure magic witnessing the positive growth and the creative capabilities these amazing young people possess.

It is comparable to a Caterpillar turning into a Butterfly. The transformation from this opportunity is beautiful.