Charlotte Church behind young people’s theatrical production

Charlotte Church has given her support to a theatrical production created by young people from her democratic school that is set to be performed in Cardiff soon.

Next week, students from The Awen Project, Charlotte Church’s democratic school, present their original play, The Letter Killers Club.

The production, entirely written, directed, produced, and performed by young people aged 11-15, will run from July 4 to July 7 at Kings Road Yard, Pontcanna.

The Letter Killers Club

Set in a future where stories are banned under pain of death, a group of storytellers meets in secret to share their tales of dark villages and disturbed villagers, ballerinas and assassins, airplane crashes and earth deities.

With every story told the Letter Killers Club edge closer and closer to the inevitable consequences of their rebellion – whether that is destruction or revolution.

The Letter Killers Club has been described as ‘a profound cry for radical imagination, a powerful critique of the post-truth era, and a vibrant kaleidoscope of narratives, promising to be the most thrilling hour of theatre this year’.

The Awen Project

The Awen Project is pioneering a new model for learning environments where young people are championed to be themselves and follow their passions as active participants in a democratic community.

They work with families to co-construct small, free-to-attend learning communities, that are run by the students and have ethics of excellence, entrepreneurialism and deep creativity.

Utilising research on how humans learn whilst allowing each Awen Learning Community to independently reflect the needs of its community, geography, and future job markets, their founders aim to build a large network of Tribes that they say “will cross borders, sharing resources, staff, and learning opportunities, and supporting generations of young people to become healthy, informed, and responsible members of the global society to face a future that is going to require great things from them”.

Their aim is to develop a new model of education that holds the well-being and needs of the individual child, their family, and their community as its central concern.

Their learning communities aim to be “creative, entrepreneurial, sustainable, democratic and independent”, that are small and free to attend.

Pride

Charlotte Church, founder of The Awen Project said: “When I set up The Awen Project, this is the kind of thing I hoped the students would be doing… and so much more.”

She added: “This isn’t just a school play – this is a group of passionate young people who have created a theatre company, learning along the way all the skills that are needed to make one.

“This kind of project-based learning is what education should look like across the board in the 21st Century. We just need to choose it. I couldn’t be prouder.”

The Letter Killers Club takes place from July 4 – 7 at Kings Road Yard, Pontcanna, Cardiff. Tickets are available at TicketSource