July 25, 2016
|By aissagallie
|
Seven clients of the Leeds Adult Offenders team attended a brilliant performance of King Lear at the natural amphitheatre at the spectacular Cow and calf rocks on Ilkley Moor.
‘Having arrived ahead of time for the event, we parked up at the splendid Cow and Calf pub over-looking the moors. It was a beautiful summers evening. The performance was due to begin at 7:00pm and so we made use of our early arrival with a lovely, if not a little tiring, walk over the moor.
The views are stunning and this was the first time on the moors for all our group. One of the customers joked, we’re watching the show over that hill pointing over the moors opposite, we all laughed, little did we realise we were actually going to be watching the play over “them there hills”. I took the time to explain this is where the “Ilkley Moor bah tat” song relates to. One commented that he would like come back here for a day with his family on the bus, another said “the views are brilliant.”
We had a picnic in the amphitheatre prior to the performance chatting to some of the actors. Thanks again to Pret a Manger for doing us proud with their donation of, drinks, sandwiches, crisps and cakes to die for!!
The play itself was a free performance by the Theatre of the Dales Production and what a performance it was too, a huge thank you to them all. Whilst the play was not always easy to follow, everyone enjoyed it as the mixture of the setting and great acting kept all enthralled. Thanks also to Opera North Encore Group and West Yorkshire Playhouse for their continued support via their respective community groups for the plays and musicals we have seen this past nine months or so. We have so far opened the theatre up to 13 different customers this year. The aim of these evenings is to improve confidence, break isolation and break down cultural barriers for our group. Foundation staff member, Debbie, gave up another evening to support the event and the way she has thrown herself into the football and theatre groups in such a supportive and nurturing way is a credit to her professionalism and enthusiasm.
Our next performances are due to begin in September at the Grand Theatre, these include traditional Irish music as well as Morocan Jbla Sufi music, one of the oldest known musical traditions.Whilst most events we attend are subsidised, there is usually a small charge per person that we can currently cover. We also like to include a coffee in the theatre when we meet and the same at the break, this is an important aspect of the evening meaning we fit into the whole social event. We are on the look-out for a sponsor so if anyone knows of a small/large business that would be willing to sponsor us please contact Brent Riley or Debbie-Lea Pritchard at Tennant Hall.
One customer commented when originally asked if he would like to attend the performance, “I can’t really say, I have never seen a play before.” As we made our way down the hill again after the performance, he asked to know when the next play is on!’
Story from Brent – Support Worker for Foundation Leeds.