Blowin’ a Hooley Theatre is launching a youth theatre in North Tyneside for children and young people aged 8-16+. The sessions will run at The Cedarwood Trust, Avon Avenue on the Meadow Well Estate, North Shields on a Monday night starting from 2nd October and are open to any child or young person who has a passion or interest in theatre and drama. Performances will be at the end of term for family, friends and the general public. Plays will be created by the groups themselves, supported by the professional writers and actors that make up Blowin’ a Hooley Theatre.
The junior group will meet between 4.30-6pm, with the senior group starting at 6.15-8pm. Sessions cost £1.50 per child.
Micky McGregor, one of the founder members of Blowin’ a Hooley and a professional actor who was in the critically acclaimed film I, Daniel Blake, and will be using his experience as one of the facilitators running the Youth Theatre with the rest of the Hooley gang said;
“I’m really excited to be bringing youth theatre to the Meadow Well and the wider North Tyneside area. I am from North Tyneside myself and I really benefited from my youth theatre experience. We know that the people in the area are really creative and we’re looking forward to helping young people in particular find their voice.”
Joining Micky to run the Youth Theatre will be founder members Harriet Ghost and Catherine Scott. Harriet is a professional actress who trained at the American Academy for Dramatic Arts in New York and has performed in films and theatre. Catherine, aside from being a stand up comedian, has been involved in youth theatre for the last 12 years.
Blowin’ a Hooley Theatre was set up in 2016 to bring high quality theatre to audiences that don’t normally access the theatre. The theatre company recently completed a tour of Tom Hadway’s ‘The Filleting Machine’, which was set on The Ridges Estate, now known as the Meadow Well, to audiences across North Tyneside.
Young people (or parents) who are interested should email hooleytheatre@gmail.com or call the Cedarwood Trust, Avon Avenue on 0191 2590245. There are only 20 places available in each age group.
The funding from Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Dame Vera Baird QC,’s community fund will enable the theatre company to set up a youth theatre group in the Meadow Well Estate, based at the Cedarwood Trust. The aim is to reach children and young people who do not usually engage in such activities. The key aim of the sessions is to reduce anti-social behaviour by providing a creative approach for local children to express themselves, empowering them to have ‘a voice’ and to celebrate their neighbourhood.