Army Style Bootcamp For 'The Grandfathers' Cast

Info Updated March 2012

As part of Connections, the most exciting youth theatre festival in the world, Bexhill College students have been busy preparing for their performing arts contribution to the festival along with 200 youth theatre groups across the UK and Australia.

All students involved will be performing brand new plays that have been especially commissioned for young people. Bexhill College will be performing ‘The Grandfathers’, a play that follows eight young recruits as they are trained to become instruments of war.

Bexhill College is proud to announce that it will also be professionally supported by Chichester Theatre where they will be performing their play on the 23rd March 2012.
If the Bexhill College performance is successful, students could then have the opportunity to perform it at The National Theatre next July.

In preparation for their play, performing arts teacher, Aaron Swartz, sought some additional ‘Army style’ training for the students involved by calling in fellow teacher of ‘Outdoor Education’ at the College, James Boardman. James is a former Marine and has had many years of fierce training within his field of work.

The students were invited to experience an outdoor intense exercise session with James whereby they were given an insight into the struggle and fear faced by so many young people at war today.

Aaron wanted the students to understand just how emotional it would have been for those young people and following the session with James, got very positive feedback from the students who felt they could now act out their parts with more conviction.
Student Rosie Glen said ‘The play has made me consider what troops abroad must go through, the nature of the relationships forged there, and how delicate life is. It made me consider true selflessness and human compassion."
Bexhill College invites you to ‘The Grandfathers’ performances held at the College performing arts studio on the 14th and 15th of March, 2:30pm and 7:30pm, an additional performance will also be held at the College on the 29th of March at 2:30pm.

Tickets can be purchased from the College and are priced at £4 for a standard ticket and £2 for concessions.

For more information please contact the College on 01424 214545

For information about purchasing tickets to the Chichester performance, please visit www.cft.org.uk

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