Old Vic, New Voices

Under Kevin Spacey’s direction, the Old Vic Education section has employed professional directors, writers and actors to work with pupils and students from South London schools on a variety of projects to encourage them to think about the creative use of drama in other subjects. The first project was a joint collaboration with the Imperial War Museum around the theme of the first day of the battle of the Somme in 1916.

The topics covered include Signing up, Women at Home, Training, the Battle, Back Home and Consequences.

the web-site includes six easy to followlesson plans for 13 to 18 year olds. the emphasis is on using drama techniques to encourage debate. Each lesson plan focuses on key issues relating to the battle of the Somme and contains scenes filmed during the performance. all of the learning materials are designed to encourage teachers to replicate the project as a Drama in History project in their own school.