CityLife

Tearing down barriers... dramatically

ON Wednesday and Thursday, the Royal Exchange Studio presents a ground-breaking Exchange Education project involving young Muslim and Jewish people aged from 16 to 25.

Under the leadership of Janine Waters, the Community Partnerships Co-ordinator at the Royal Exchange, the group have devised and will perform and present a show called 24 Hour City, described as 'a dramatic journey through contemporary Manchester and the dreams and realities of these young people's worlds'.

"The original idea came around June last year," says Janine, "when we were approached by a funding body called the One To One Children's Fund. They fund projects in areas of conflict around the world and they had asked the Tricycle Theatre in Kilburn to run a Muslim/Jewish Youth Theatre, which they did last year.

"Then they wanted us to set up a similar project in the north west. It's quite unusual for us to be approached by a funder - normally we would think of a project and then seek funding for it. But this way round was lovely!

"Researching it, I became aware of a Manchester Muslim and Jewish Forum, who were very helpful. We needed to wait until after Ramadan and we were recruiting during the universities' freshers weeks and started at the end of November.

"Mainly, the 16 participants don't have much in the way of drama experience and it's not been a way for people who are budding drama students to get into the Royal Exchange," Janine emphasises.

Heritage

"The criteria was 'are you of Muslim or Jewish heritage?' and that was all we were really interested in, although I did keep an eye on maintaining a balance between the faiths.

"The majority of people have said they've joined because they've never really had the opportunity to talk to a Muslim or to a Jew before. The joy of a theatre company is that it sets up a safe environment that enables people to get together and focus on something else, which is creating a piece of theatre."

It's a piece devised by the participants which, says Janine, "began to take shape almost immediately they got together, with ideas coming out of games and improvisations. "We didn't want to go in with the intent of looking at `the issues'. We also didn't want it to be a play about religion. All we said was that the play is called 24 Hour City and that it was important that we were in Manchester, that it was somehow about the city and their experiences of it.

"So part of the play is literally their own words about their own, or their family's, journey to Manchester, whereas another part of the play has them exploring other characters, speaking things that they don't necessarily agree with or believe. That's the joy of theatre, that it allows you to explore the map of other people's minds.

"The most interesting question is: will they stay in contact after his project? At the moment, I really think they will and the nicest thing I've heard, and I've heard it throughout the project, is one or another of them saying, 'You know I've never had a Muslim friend, or a Jewish friend, before'."

24 Hour City is at the Royal Exchange Studio on Wednesday and Thursday, March 7 and 8. Call 0161 833 9833 for ticket details.