Freehold based young people in Manchester theatre production

Date article online: 22/11/2006

Young people with asylum seeker and refugee status from Freehold, Rochdale are taking part in a production entitled 'These City Streets' at the Zion Arts Centre in Manchester. The production is based around their own experiences of moving to Greater Manchester. 

The two nights of innovative theatre (1-2 December 2006) will mark the jubilant climax of a three-year programme that united young people from Greater Manchester’s refugee and asylum seeker population with excluded youth from their host communities.

These City Streets is an all-consuming physical and visual experience, fusing street dance with theatre, roots with breaks, and digital images with an original and partly live music score.

It tells the story of a teenage brother and sister who arrive in Manchester from West Africa. The pair finds themselves lost and alone in the city centre on a busy Friday night with nowhere to stay and struggle to find their feet.

The moving tale is based on stories told by young people with refugee and asylum seeker status who took part in the Urban Music Theatre project run by Community Arts North West (CAN), directed by Chris Sudworth and produced by Yasmin Yaqub.

Project leader Yasmin Yaqub of CAN said: "This project has united young people from Greater Manchester’s refugee and asylum seeker population with excluded youth from their host communities and has engaged so many people on so many levels."

"It has been challenging but also really fulfilling to see that we have provided such a quality process for over 300 young people".

For the two nights of the show, the audience is invited to interact with the production, using mobile phones and moving around with the action, experiencing an aeroplane journey and a hectic Friday night in Manchester. Street and airport scenes are acted out by African and street dancers and film and VJ-ing techniques are used to further bring the ambitious production to life.

These City Streets
Friday 1 - Saturday 2 December 2006 8-9pm
Zion Arts, 355 Stretford Road, Hulme, Manchester M15 5EF

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