Primary Playwrights

Spring 2024
A FREE project introducing Year 6 children from Waltham Forest primary schools to the art of playwriting,

The programme

  • Encourages pupils to connect with their imagination whilst encouraging them to express and organise their ideas and made-up stories into dramatic narratives.
  • Encourages pupils to articulate meaning a in a range of different ways, motivating them to broaden their vocabulary and experiment with different speech and language patterns. As they learn how to take stories from their heads and write them large, they learn and discover different modes of language and styles of writing.
  • Pupils learn about laying out scenes clearly so that their scripts can be spoken aloud by other pupils and by professional actors.

The Process

  • Each class takes part in five 90-minute creative writing workshops, led by a professional playwright, supported by professional actors. These usually take place in January to February each year, as appropriate to each school and teacher.
  • All students are then invited to write a short play (roughly 5 minutes), about any subject they choose, and teachers will submit the scripts to us in April.
  • The plays are read, and a selection (x2 from each school) are produced as a professional showcase at Soho Theatre in summer
  • In June/July the schools have their in-house performances, performed by professional actors performing the two winning plays from their school.

 

Primary Playwrights 2023 photography by Daniaal Khalid

For more information, to join Soho Young Playwrights or to arrange workshops contact education@sohotheatre.com

Reviews

'The children were absolutely buzzing all the way home. You have definitely helped them make memories for life. All in all, it's been exceptional and we are very delighted to have been part of it.'
Participating school, 2023
'Please pass on our thanks to the whole team. Just wondering if we can have another go next year?!?!'
Participating school, 2023

Our brand new venue

See where we're up to refurbishing the old Walthamstow Granada into a state-of-the-art 21st century comedy venue in the heart of the Waltham Forest community - Soho Theatre Walthamstow.

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