Immersive Theatre Experience

As some of our readers may already know, Tring Park School has expanded its work in the community and for charity over the last ten years.

School Principal, Stefan Anderson explains: ‘We receive many requests to provide pupils to perform at charity fundraising events and we try to accept as many as will fit into the already busy schedule.

‘The Acting Course recently presented The Suppliants and those performances raised money for a number of charities.’

The Suppliants is the first and only surviving play of a trilogy by Aeschylus put on in 463BCE. It is about helplessness and need and what it means to stand up for those who are defenceless. Dominic Yeates, one of the school’s drama directors, adapted the play so that students and audiences could take a close look at one of the key issues affecting the world – that of refugees and migration. His adaptation saw the play set outside, in a present-day migrant camp.

In the interval of the show representatives of Oxfam, World Vision, Médecins sans Frontieres and War Child were invited to present to audiences to put some of the subject matter contained in the play into a 21st-century context. They talked about poverty, working with vulnerable children, delivering emergency medical aid to people affected by armed conflict and natural and man-made disasters.

Stefan Anderson concluded: ‘I think it is so important for our pupils to be part of the valuable work of raising money and performing for people less fortunate than ourselves.’

You can read more in the school’s press release.

You can find out more about the work of Médecins sans Frontieres and make a donation on their website.