The Citizens Theatre will bring live theatre into the classroom this March, with pupils at two Gorbals primary schools set to enjoy a brand-new production created especially for younger audiences.
Maud’s Map, a richly imaginative show based on a book by theatre-maker Jen Edgar, will be performed for pupils at St Francis’ Primary School and Blackfriars Primary School in the Citizens Theatre’s Southside neighbourhood of the Gorbals. Created and presented with a full professional team, the show addresses the power of self-belief as a young person, and the big feelings and emotions that can come with growing up.
Directed by Citizens Theatre’s Head of Creative Learning Catrin Evans, Maud’s Mapwill be performed by celebrated children’s theatre-maker Rosalind Sydney and Taylor Goodwin, recently seen in the Tron Theatre’s acclaimed all-female production of The Tempest. The show will feature set, costume and puppet design by Jenny Booth and sound design from Niroshini Thambar and will also feature puppetry created by Ailie Cohen.
Ahead of the production, Primary 4 pupils at the schools will have the chance to directly contribute to the show, working with the schools’ team led by Carly McCaig and Zephyr Liddell, and the show’s creative team to create unique performances, props, and sound pieces that will form a part of the performances in March. The show will also form part of a wider classroom resource, with pupils enjoying creative workshops exploring the show’s themes of emotional literacy and confidence.
Writer and Movement Director Jen Edgar said “I’m absolutely thrilled that Maud’s Map has found a home at the Citizens Theatre. Maud started life as a picture book which I wrote and illustrated in 2020. … It’s a privilege to share Maud’s Map with the children in the Gorbals community. My hope is that Maud will entertain and inspire all of the children and grown-ups who come to meet her.”
Maud’s Map is the culmination of the Citizens Theatre’s Gorbals Primary Schools residency – an exciting new engagement project which has seen the company’s Creative Learning team take up residence in two local schools, St Francis’ Primary and Blackfriars Primary, between September 2022 and March 2023.
Pupils have also been able to directly take part in two new productions including Maud’s Map and 2022 family Christmas show Red Riding Hood, for which the P7 classes created a special curtain raiser performance, working alongside professional theatre teams and performing for their schools, friends, and family. More than 600 pupils from the wider school community will also have attended performances of each show. It has also been an opportunity for local young people to engage with the work of the entire Citizens Theatre team, from creatives to wardrobe, sound and marketing.
The Primary Schools eight-month artistic residency is a key touchstone of the Citizens Theatre’s ‘homecoming’ plans, helping to forge and enrich connections with local Gorbals and Southside neighbours, ahead of the company celebrating the return home to its iconic Gorbals venue when the redeveloped Citizens Theatre opens in 2024.
Irene Brown
Radio Summerhall Arts 