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by Harold Pinter - directed by Emma Nicholson
Press Release 1:
Fresh from its exploits as mischievous dwarves and goblins in JRR Tolkein's 'The Hobbit', the Caxton Youth Theatre sets out for Skegness to defend its title as drama festival champions.
The festival features many excellent youth theatre teams from Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire as well as Lincolnshire, and the Grimsby team which swept the board last year with its remarkable interpretation of the Greek tragedy Antigone, will have its hands full to repeat the success. For this year, the young actors will attempt to keep their crown with a presentation of Mountain Language, a short but powerful drama written by acclaimed playwright Harold Pinter.
Mountain Language is directed by Emma Nicholson, the Caxton Theatre director for youth performance, who says: "I think Mountain Language will be impressive and a great challenge for the group which has worked hard with rehearsals and enjoyed putting the production together."
Mountain Language is a taut political commentary on the oppression of the Kurdish people in Turkey through the banning of their native tongue. The plot follows the story of a group of women who have come to visit their husbands, fathers and sons imprisoned for speaking the "wrong" language.
Pinter was inspired by the Turkish Kurds and the suppression of their language, but the play has no specific setting, time or place and is a chilling reminder of the oppression of ethnic minorities.
Yara UK Limited and Conoco are sponsored the play.
Press Release 2:
The Caxton Youth Theatre, Skegness Youth Drama Champion for 2003, had a task on its hands to defend the title at the Embassy Centre in Skegness, against strong competition from around the country.
The piece members chose to perform was Mountain Language, by Harold Pinter. It was an ambitious and very adult production for such relatively young performers but thankfully it still impressed adjudicator Geoffrey Annis, and once again the Grimsby team was declared overall champion of the two-day festival.
The group's performance featured several of the cast who recently performed in The Hobbit, and the production also incorporated live drumming to give it a military feel in several scenes featuring militia.
Youth team director Emma Nicholson was justifiably very proud and said: "Last year we pulled out all the stops with our production of Antigone and took away most of the silverware.
"This year other groups have really provided some stiff competition and it was very tough, but we worked hard to keep our title as festival champions.
"It was good to see so much high quality drama, but I am guessing it will be an even harder challenge next year if we want to carry on winning."
Mr Annis praised the tightness and maturity of the Caxton production, which earned it the title.
He also mentioned how disciplined the youth group was on stage, something which the Caxton team is very proud of.
Mr Annis was also impressed with the choice of costumes by young wardrobe manager Amy Burrows.
He also gave special mentions to Charlotte Fell as the young woman, with "passion in her performance", Ben Evardson playing the suitably nasty Sergeant and Tom Finch who played the Officer.
Miss Nicholson added: "The cast loved taking part in the festival over the weekend and it is another great achievement for them, continuing an ever-growing reputation for excellence and making a brilliant end to a very busy and exciting year."
Cast
Young Woman -
Sargeant -
Officer -
Guard -
Second Guard -
Old Woman -
Prisoner -
Hooded Man -
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Charlotte Fell
Ben Evardson
Tom Finch
Adam Powell
Tim Henton
Rachelle White
Danny McCallum
Michael Hobbins |
| Women - |
Amy Burrows
Gemma Clark
Hannah Willis
Anja Waszczyszyn
Katie Coulthwaite
Hannah Ramsden |
| Drummers - |
Heather Pearson
Ellis Barnbrook
Alanagh Lawlor
Dani Bolton |
Director -
Producer/Photographer -
Assistant Producer -
Stage Manager -
Lighting -
Sound - |
Emma Nicholson
Scott Middleton
Chris Thornberry
Sam Wright
Chris Nicholl
Gary Pearson |
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