Peace in Our Time

Overview

Peace in Our Time was an intergenerational drama project involving participants in Glasgow and Coatbridge with the help of Tricky Hat Productions. They develop and produce theatre and drama-based projects with vulnerable children, young people and adults. The two groups involved were pupils from Blairtummock Primary, Easterhouse, and the ‘Nifty Fifties’ from Coatbridge.

The Nifty Fifties had previously worked with the Scottish Learning Partnership on a drama project. To extend this experience, they had decided to work in an intergenerational way. The ideas for the production were generated by the young people and focused on big issues of war and global warming. 19 young people and six older people were involved.

The project was one of many supported through Glasgow’s Cultural Pathfinder for Older People. It began in 2007 and was funded by the then Scottish Executive. It followed on from the success of the Encourage programme which opened up the arts for people over 50 in Glasgow. It identified the need for continuing targeted and tailored work for disadvantaged older people in the city.

Challenges

This was a challenging project because of the timescale and the funding, and at an intergenerational level, winning over all the young people. Although the majority found it novel, fun and enjoyable, others found it rather strange and different from their usual activities. Therefore perseverance and tact were of the essence. Arriving at the point where the group were ready to perform was therefore particularly gratifying for all involved. Although the performance was perhaps not as well-rehearsed as it might have been much was achieved. The whole group did tremendously well in their final performance.

Successful outcome

“I thought the two groups worked really well together given the challenges. We focused on what we had in common and not what was different”, stated Fiona Miller, Tricky Hat leader of the project. “It was a short space of time to create something together but the groups responded quickly to new ideas. If there had been more time, I would have worked with the Nifty Fifties on their own for a couple of sessions as I feel they would have enjoyed exploring ideas in more depth and having time to share these as a group of adults. Their commitment to supporting the young people was tremendous.”