Last week we saw the ODA health and safety school workshops come to an end, they have played an integral part in educating children about the dangers of living and playing near and building site. Teddy Nygh tells us more about his experience whilst he has been on tour of the five host boroughs to the Olympic Games.
It must be 60 shows we have performed so far and it has been a fantastic journey! We have worked in many different schools throughout the Olympic Host Boroughs and have all learnt so much about the Games, as well as of the many inspirational people involved in creating it. For instance, I have learned that there are currently 7,000 people working on the park... which will rise to 10,000 very soon! The park is 5km... or the size of 300 football pitches! The children always love that one! It is indeed a mini city on its own! We were lucky enough to do the Olympic bus tour and the scale of it was phenomenal!
Touring Greenwich, Hackney, Newham, Waltham Forest and Tower Hamlets, we’ve found that every area, every school and every group of children are different. Although it can be a real challenge as an actor to repeat a show so many times, the pupils and their amazing energy and ideas always make it an exciting and gratifying experience. Also I feel very lucky to have such an amazing working partner, Joey aka ‘Anya’. We work really well together and it has been a blessing to work with her. It is just us two together every week that travel out to the schools, unload the set and get on with it and thankfully support each other the whole way.
It has been a great pleasure to be part of such a monumentally historical event for our City and our Country and also to help keep children safe by teaching them to be aware of how dangerous a construction site can be. Our play also deals with dares and peer pressure, every single time we do it the children always engage in the workshop and say such brilliant things, it just reaffirms that they are listening and learning in an environment they feel comfortable with and can relate to.
We performed our last show for Primary Years 5 and 6 last week and we are now about to bring it out to Secondary Years 8 and 9. It has been an interesting transition going from playing age 10 to age 14 (!) and although the characters have changed quite a bit, the messages have stayed just as powerful and relevant. Don’t mess about on a construction site!
