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Aug 2002 Index

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September 2002

Glasgow-based Theatre Company FABLEVISION is touring its highly successful drug awareness programme LAST NIGHT to more than 2,000 young people in 24 secondary schools in the Highlands. The tour began in Inverness on 26th August and finishes in Wick on Thursday 12 September before taking the ferry to Stornoway to tour Harris and Lewis.

The tour is an important element of the Highland Drug and Alcohol Strategy programme, whose partners include The Highland Council Education, Culture and Sport Service and the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations.  Bruce Robertson, Director of Education, Culture and Sport, is Vice-Chairman of the Highland Drug and Alcohol Strategy Group. He said: "Our school staff in partnership with other agencies are already doing a good job in preparing Highland young people to take a responsible attitude towards drugs. The FABLEVISION experience will enhance their efforts."

FABLEVISION is supported by The Educational Institute of Scotland, The Daily Record, Stagecoach, Abbey National and Mellon Newton. It has been presenting Drug Awareness Theatre In Education (TIE) programmes in Scottish schools since 1994. Rather than present the straightforward "Don't take drugs!" message Fablevision have opted for the more holistic and timeless message of personal empowerment. Audiences are encouraged to recognise personal and social pressures, take responsibility for their own actions and learn to make informed positive choices about all the issues affecting their own lives and not purely drug issues.

The LAST NIGHT programme invites interaction between the actors and the audience to develop new scenes, which explore the decision-making processes of the characters.

Dave Mason, Education Officer, Fablevision said: "The strength of LAST NIGHT is that no two performances are ever the same. The audience brings so much to it that the second half of the show (where members of the audience join the cast on stage) is always a very powerful piece of theatre."

The overall package consists of three distinct elements:

A Performance of highly rich and visual theatre that is accurate, appropriate, informative and educational and designed specifically to raise issues of self-awareness and decision making. By presenting the performance in an amusing, accessible and punchy style, young people are made to feel respected and included rather than lectured.

A follow-up Workshop, utilising experiential learning techniques to explore in greater depth the issues raised by the performance. The workshop for Last Night takes the form of Forum theatre. The audience become the directors and even performers, developing follow-on scenarios in an attempt to answer some of the questions raised by the piece. As a result the young people become involved in discussion, improvisation and the presentation of their own ideas.

A Teachers' Resource Pack, developed by Fablevision by a team of teachers, Health Promotion Officers and Regional Education Advisors, closely tied in with the Personal and Social Development Curriculum and the Health Education Guidelines, to enable teachers to expand the themes and issues raised through classroom based exercises and projects. The aim of this work will be to introduce new methodologies and practical techniques for working with young people on these sensitive, personal issues in a productive way. 

In addition a team of Drama Workers from all over the Highlands will attend a training session at Eden Court Theatre with Fablevision staff.  By visiting schools with follow up programmes, this team can keep the themes and messages alive when Fablevision's tour is over.

The tour continues on Monday 9 September at Dingwall Academy and Alness Academy; on Tuesday at Invergordon Academy and Tain Royal Academy; on Wednesday at Dornoch Academy and on Thursday at Farr High School and Wick High School.

For more information contact Dave Mason at FABLEVISION, 7 Water Row, Govan, Glasgow G51 3UW Tel/Fax: 0141 425 2020 Email: [email protected]

See Also
Fable Vision
Fable Vision Drug Awareness Education Programme online  Target age range P6 & P7 (9-11 year olds)
Drugs Links