New Projects

Real McKoi Creates a stir!

The Real McKoi is now cast and goes into rehearsal the last week of October.

It has a fine young group of actors (see photo) and will go round the schools the first two weeks in November. Bookings are already coming in fast and considerable press coverage is helping even further.

So far details of the project have been featured on Real Radio, Metro Radio and Radio Newcastle.

The radio pieces have included interviews with some of the pupils from Excelsior Academy in Newcastle who took part in the drama workshops which provided background to the play and help to give it — particularly its language —  its authenticity.

Callum Beadle-Taylor, 16 (happily a keen student with excellent attendance records !)  said about his participation in the project, ‘It's great to know that our opinions are being listened to. A play can really open people's eyes and may make them think in a different way.’ 

Said Natalie Morton, also 16, and another workshop participant, ‘It feels like our opinions count and that we're being noticed. The script writers really wanted to know what we thought.’

‘A play tackles truanting differently,’ according to Professor Paul Younger, Newcastle University's Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Engagement) who commissioned The Real McKoi. ‘ Instead of saying kids do this or that, it talks to us in a different way and explains how we feel.’

Professor Younger is delighted with The Real McKoi calling it ‘very entertaining and thought-provoking.’ 

‘One of the biggest problems facing our region is that our teenagers have the lowest rates of take-up of higher education in the country,’ he said.’  Drama can go straight to the heart of the reasons behind this and that is why we called on the talents of Operating Theatre.’

The play is being co-funded by Newcastle University and Newcastle City Council through its Aimhigher project. The play is booking for Monday November 2 - Friday November 6 inclusive and Monday November 9 - Friday November 13 inclusive.

Most performance slots are now taken but a couple are left and there is a still a chance to book.

Anyone interested in having the play staged at their school — which is free and only requires a space such as a school hall — should contact Carol Clewlow on 0191 252 9713 or carol.clewlow@scribbling.demon.co.uk

The Human Touch

Lessons from the Crimea!                       

Florence Nightingale makes a guest appearance in Operating Theatre’s latest newly commissioned play.

Her appearance is less odd bearing in mind the subject of the play which is infection, the speciality of Nightingale  in the Crimea where before she arrived almost half of the soldiers were dying not from their wounds, horrendous as they were, but from the filthy conditions of the hospital.

The play, The Human Touch, was commissioned by the North East Strategic Health Authority for the Health Care Associated Infection conference in Billingham on July 7 attended by a hundred health care workers, commissioners and policy makers from all over the region.

Operating Theatre was specifically asked to produce a play focussing on the patient experience. In the play the patient, Terry Clark,  has caught MRSA after a gall bladder operation, and now feels utterly isolated cooped up as he is alone in his own private room and prey to his fears. 

His situation is not improved firstly by his male friends who view MRSA as something worthy of a science fiction film,   and therefore prefer to send messages via Terry’s mobile phone than visit, but more so by his wife Deborah who views Terry’s situation as the next best thing to a winning lottery ticket and is now intent on suing the hospital.

The  play — the title comes from Terry’s observation that the only hands that touch him now are encased in latex gloves —  is  humorous as well as thought-provoking and was enthusiastically received by the audience. It was presented in the usual Operating Theatre way with a hot-seating workshop afterwards in which the audience had the chance to cross-question both Terry and Florence   — but in particular Terry — about their experiences.

Conference organisers were delighted with the play and with what they described as ‘ the fantastic feedback’ from delegates . The Operating Theatre session, play and hot-seating scored highly in an evaluation of the conference carried out afterwards.  Quotes from the audience  included ‘ a very good idea, different, entertaining,’ and ‘ a creative way of getting the message across and an excellent debate which followed.’

The Human Touch offers a  good example of how quickly Operating Theatre can produce a new play when required to do so  being  researched, written, cast and presented to the conference within two months of the first approach from the North East Strategic Health Authority.