Play in a Week

Published on 27 March 2024.

"This is more than just enrichment; the opportunity to write, collaborate and perform builds determination and confidence." Headteacher

“Play in a Week made me feel more confident on stage, made me feel happy and I looked forward to going to school!” Pupil

Travelling Light’s creative learning project, Play in a Week, was developed to celebrate the creative ideas and imaginations of children. Valuing them as artists in their own right.

In 2013, we began working with Victoria Park Primary School to develop this creative learning offer and we continue to return to the school each year.

The whole of year 3 spends a week working with Travelling Light artists to produce a ‘Play in a Week’.

“Every child engages and is impacted by Play in a Week...it is high profile in our school with a community expectation. Parents and siblings expect to see it. It also represents what the school stands for. There are some children who I rarely hear speak who come to life when Play in a Week is on.” Headteacher

“We have had TL work with our children on Play in a Week. It was a highlight of the year for them. One parent said, ‘I’ve seen a side of my son that I’d never seen before’ and ‘Where did that come from?’” Teacher

A professional writer comes in to meet the pupils and they pitch their ideas for a play, linked to their curriculum topic. Over the years, this has ranged from Roald Dahl to climate-changing action heroes, to the Mesolithic Stone Age and the Ancient Greeks. The writer then helps to develop a script alongside the pupils. The ideas and the story are all led by the children.

Working with this brand-new script, the pupils work with Travelling Light artists over the course of a week to develop their skills as actors, musicians, dancers and designers.

The pupils create the design, the costume and the props to bring the play to life. They work on the music, sometimes writing their own songs. They also help create the dance routines and movement, which the pupils then teach to their peers.

After 4 days of making and creating they bring together the new show for two performances on Friday afternoon. The children gain a great deal from this project and really look forward to sharing their endeavours with an audience of family and friends.

“I usually speak quiet, but it gave me courage to speak louder.” Pupil

“A once in a lifetime experience.” Pupil

Mike Akers, who has worked as the script writer for Play in a Week since its inception, discusses how co-creation is embedded at the core of the project:

“One of the fantastic things about this project is hearing the sheer diversity of ideas which the children come up with. It’s an exciting challenge to bring as many of them as possible into the story and it’s great when the children first read through the script and have that moment of recognising their own idea within the text. Co-creating the material with the children themselves provides an immediate sense of connection and ownership with the script and I think this in turn supports them to feel more confident in the process of bringing the play to life.”

Lizzy Stephens, Artistic Director at Travelling Light:

“Pupils get to enhance their skills in specialist areas and really develop their confidence and communication. It is particularly enriching for pupils who struggle to access the curriculum on a day-to-day basis. We get to celebrate the pupils’ imaginations as it incorporates so many of their ideas – providing a creative, inspiring and memorable experience for everyone involved.”

Nic Bailey, Headteacher at Victoria Park Primary School:

“Victoria Park Primary School have been working with Travelling Light for over a decade. 'Play in a Week' is always a highlight for children, staff and parents. It's remarkable what the children can achieve in one week under the expert guidance of the Traveling Light team. There are roles for everybody, including actors, dancers, musicians, prop makers and even 'customer service'. This is more than just enrichment; the opportunity to write, collaborate, rehearse and perform builds determination and confidence. It's a wonderful week and we can't wait to do it again!”

For more details about Play In A Week and to discuss bringing this project or one of our other creative learning offers to your school, contact admin@travellinglighttheatre.org.uk.