Professional Company works with students and teachers to bring Dante to life for Arts Week 2001
From 9th - 16th July, Wycombe professional touring theatre company, Wildcard, will be collaborating with 135 Year 8 students at Sir William Borlase Grammar School to produce an interactive arts event based on Dante's Divine Comedy. The students and their Art, Music and Drama teachers will work alongside Wildcard's workshop leaders to create their own versions of Heaven, Hell and Purgatory at various locations in the school grounds. The resulting promenade performance will take Parents and Governors on a walking tour of the afterlife, culminating in each audience member being assigned to one of the three settings.
Wildcard has been building a relationship with the school since this time last year when they collaborated on an Arts Week project based on the Odyssey and Shakespeare's Tempest. The Company then returned to perform its innovative production of Hiawatha at the school in the Autumn term. Andrew Potter, Wildcard's Artistic Director says "Sir William Borlase's approach to the Arts is characterised by a willingness to tackle big themes and mythologies with all ages ... and to have a lot of fun in the process. And this is a mutually beneficial thing. Arts Week is an excellent opportunity for students to experience working with theatre professionals; exploring the kind of team work and creative skills involved in producing work on this scale and delivering it to a deadline. At the same time, it helps us, as professional artists, to challenge and extend our ideas and working methods, which undoubtedly enriches our work in the theatre. So, not only is Wildcard providing an educational resource to the school; in return the staff and students at Sir William Borlase are effectively helping to develop the Arts in the wider community." This project is possible because of funding received by Sir William Borlase School from the European Comenius Programme, which supports links between schools in the European Community.
Wildcard's next production will be Richard III, which opens "The Play's the Thing" Shakespeare festival at the Wycombe Swan from 3rd - 6th October of this year, before going on tour around the region to a number of venues including the Norden Farm Centre for the Arts on 13th and 14th November.
There will be a performance of the Arts Week project on Monday 16th July at 7pm.
For press tickets and further information, please contact
Jo Salkilld
Administrative Director
on 01494 439375
or Email the company: