A promenade piece of theatre that explored what makes us, us.

After years of lockdown restrictions the young people wanted to create a piece of theatre that explored what it meant to be themselves. Exploring how they fit in, what are the building blocks that contributes to them as young people turning into young adults and what others think about them.

This promenade piece was performed in the beautiful setting of Taigwaith. Audiences were greeted with a personality test and were placed in groups based on their results. They then heard stories one of three characters struggling with their identity who wanted to go on this journey to answer questions about their identity.

                        Jen:              ‘Give us another sausage love, there’s a good girl.’ Certainly Doris, I say in my ripped jeans and checked shirt, mostly covered by this god-awful apron with a big yellow chicken on the front that they make us wear, which to be honest is a crime against fashion. ‘Good Girl’ stays with me. ‘She’s a good girl that Jennifer.’

                                            Truth is, I’ve never really found, the right words, the right term. Girl/boy, man/woman, cat/dog…whatever, it’s all so…one or the other. The last one’s a joke by the way. Ha, ha. Very funny. But seriously right, society is so geared towards cis-het, non-disabled white people, that if you dare to step even an inch outside the norm, you’re ostracised.

I don’t correct people when they get my pronouns wrong, I just go with it, don’t kick up a fuss. But the term fits. They/them. Fits more than anything has before. I’m the only one who knows, that I’m using it. But what do I do now?    

The audience went off on their own journeys led by puppet guides and their character. The audience explored different scenes inspired by the experiences of young people, from education, how technology is taking over,  to what their personal aesthetic is and how they fit in; whilst wandering around the sleepy beautiful village of Tairgwaith.

The audience then had to opportunity to share positive memories or give advice to future young people and adults.

In the end they got to hear personal verbatim pieces of loss, struggle with being stuck and disability – and how they over come hurdles. These were individual performance shared 1-2-1 with audiences.

Finishing with a story of romance and a movement piece, music performed live and actors dancing to the final verbatim piece. The 3 characters at the start found a resolve one that could change and morph. Learning that we can’t always know what the future looks like, but we can believe in ourselves a bit more.

                 Jen: Pronouns are important. Being yourself is important. That’s what I’ve learnt. If customers can kick up a fuss about getting the wrong panini then I can kick up an even bigger fuss about people getting my pronouns incorrect. I need to stand up for myself. After today, I’m going to start telling people. If they get my pronouns wrong, I’ll say, ‘It’s they/them by the way.’  confidence brimming. This feels right. I feel content that this

What the audience said: