HOMES

11/10/09 PETER BADEJO!

After starting work on MeWe's upcoming documentary about African Dance, I have had the pleasure of interviewing a host of amazing artists and practitioners with latest being Peter Badejo and featured African Crossroads artist Andreya Oaumba. If you do not know who these people are go to google and research. You will be inspired and educated. Also look out for the documentary and here what they have to say about performing arts in the UK and Africa.

06/09/09 MeWe DO KINGSTON CARNIVAL!

MeWe Arts and Education took over Kingston Carnival today, with a bright and entertaining procession through the city centre, followed by 2 vibrant performances of afro-carribean dancing. Footage for the forthcoming documentary was filmed, and a stall for MeWe/Wings Theatre School, were very successful. Well done MeWe, and well done to everyone who attended carnival, whether to perform or just enjoy the day.

05/09/09 MeWe MEMBERS MAKE WEST END!

Congratulations to Harry Skyers and Benjamin Cawley. The MeWe arts members made their west end debut, in the Cochrane Theatre production, Overspill. Please find the review, up in the writing and media section of the site.

01/09/09 HALLAM & NXUMALO JOIN FORCES

Exciting playwrite, Christopher Hallam has joined forces with me, Vernon Nxumalo, to write a new production. Having acted together in two previous shows, (Other Voices and Young Speakers), We know eachother well and creatively, bounce off one another constantly.

01/09/09 CORAL MESSAM INTERVIEW

This week I will be interviewing, the wonderfully talented and exciting dance captain, Coral Messam. Look out for the transcript on here.

31/08/09 CARNIVAL SUCCESS

Mewe Theatre had a very successfull day, filming this years Notting Hill Carnival. Camera man Chris Jatkins got some valuable footage for the current project MeWe is working on. Look out for some footage in the up coming film.

24/08/09 MEWE THEATRE DOING CARNIVAL!

MeWe Theatre will be filming at this years Notting Hill Carnival. The reason for this, is ofcourse the brilliant documentary about the history of African Dance. This will be an amazing and insightful section of the film, if you love TV, love dance, or just love carnival, be there or be square!

22/07/09 CHASING ORA ARE BACK!

After suffering the tragic loss of lead singer Joanna, the band have greived, re-grouped and returned in loving memory of her.

The shows are this Friday (24/7) down at Chinnerys in Southend, and this Saturday (25/7) at Barfly in Camden. The Chinns one is a cheapy ?3 pay on the door entry but they've got a limited reduced price guest list for our London show so I?d need to put names down if you?re up for that one (just email Darren at chasingora@hotmail.com and he'll sort it). Be there, to remember Joanna, support the RSPCA and of course, enjoy good music!

16/07/09 RETURNING TO THE ROSE

On the 24th July, I will be returning to the Rose Theatre Kingston, for a day of impromptu and improvised comedy sketches, be there or be square.

15/07/09 VKN ONLINE IS BACK

After a quick revamp, www.vknonline.co.uk, the personal website of writer, poet and critic, Vernon Nxumalo, has returned. More articles, reviews, theatre and poetry, on line.

24/04/09 MY MOVIE SCREENED TOMORROW

My first appearence on the big screen is being shown on 25/04/09 at 16:00 at the Genisis Cinema, Mile End. The short Drama, entitled: Our Opion, tells a story of bullying, racism and youth violence.

Check it out, and rate my performance.

20/04/09 NEW PRODUCTIONS COMING UP

Just had the great news, that I have been given funding to write and produce a theatre prodcution, a documentary and a short film.

Any actors, dancers or behind the scenes people looking to be part of he project should contact me. More info to follow.

18/03/09 JOINING THE NAYT

Today I became a board member of the National Association of Youth Theatres,

most of you know I write and act in theatre, and was honoured to be invited to join such a prestigious organisation.

The NAYT supports the development of youth theatre and young people’s involvement in theatre through a professional programme of training, advocacy, information services and events.

I am also the press officer for the MeWe theatre company. If you are interested in theatre, or specifically any of the two organisations I represent, contact me.

10/03/09 OTHER VOICES REPORT

After months of hard work and preparation, the MeWe theatre company recently completed the powerful 'Other Voices' project. A series of dynamic workshops in primary schools, focusing on extreme responses among young people in moments of conflict relevant to their lives, culminating in the performance of the corresponding play, 'Other Voices', at the Rose Theatre in Kingston Upon Thames.

Our Aim

Commissioned by the government and funded by Kingston council, the project's aim, was to address the issues that can attract young people towards violent extremist causes, and, help them find positive alternatives.

While pursuing our aim, the positive nature of the project, subconsciously promoted and encouraged other ideals such as; appreciation and respect for different races, cultures, religions and ways of living.

The Workshops

A common theme in MeWe productions, is matching theatrical performances with informative workshops for young people which explore the subject matter of the plays. Again we used theatre in education to engage the children we visited in schools, across Kingston and surrounding areas. Besides teaching basic acting skills, members of the cast introduced a fun way of boosting the children's confidence. Following a range of fun, vocal and physical warm ups, we got the children to do improvised performances with us, about the subjects of conflict and problem solving.

We then moved into discussions about the message of 'Other Voices', in order to gage the children's understanding of the themes of the project and their ideas. In previous projects, MeWe members performed for pupils, before working with them in drama work shops, but this time, all of the schools got the chance to perform with the theatre company, at the Rose Theatre.

In the week of 23/02/09 - 27/02/09, we re-visited the Mount, king Athelstan, Burlington and Green Lanes primary schools, for extended workshops and rehearsals. With the three day stint at the Rose Theatre starting on the 02/03/09 in mind. Using the three mediums of drama, dance and poetry, the young people told a stories of conflict and pain and conveyed a message of peace and hope. The unique three day programme, at the Rose, consisted of each school coming to the theatre in the morning, being split into their allocated groups of drama, poetry and dance, for a final two hour rehearsal of their routines, before their big performance in the afternoon. As well as performing in the prestigious theatre complex, the children's performances were made special by the presence of their parents and teachers, who came along to witness the results of their hard work and creativity. Parents, teachers and pupils were also treated to a short extract from the Other Voices play, following the school performances. And finally their was a question and answer session, which gave the parents a chance to ask about what their children had achieved and the process of making the performance, as well as queries on the project as a whole.

king Athelstan performed on 02/03/09, with the Mount and Burlington primary schools performing on the 03/03/09 and 04/03/09 respectively.

Besides the three afternoon performances, one lucky school, Green Lanes, got the chance to perform in the evening, on the night of the MeWe performance, before the Other Voices play on the 04/03/09.

All the school performances, were fantastic and all who witnessed them, were very proud.

The Performance

This performance was special because, it was MeWe's first at the Rose Theatre in Kingston. Opened in 2008, the complex drew inspiration from the original 'Little Rose' theatre. It was truly an honour to perform there, considering the current director of the Rose, is the legendary English theatre director, Sir Peter Hall.

Hall has directed productions at the Oxford Playhouse, the Arts Theatre, London, the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, in Stratford-On-Avon, to name but a few. Hall is best known for his work with the Royal Shakespeare Company which he founded in 1960, at the age of 29.

Another reason for the project being so unique, was the fact that Artistic director of MeWe, Ann-Marie Olufuwa, took a step back and encouraged the cast and younger members of the company, to create the play and make it their own.

While keeping a watchful eye over the progress, Ann-Marie gave assistance and guidance when required. The play itself, was written and directed by Christopher Hallam, a more senior member of MeWe youth theatre.

With the performances in early March, MeWe had to hit the ground running at the turn of the new year.

And with such a controversial and thought provoking subject to cover, Chris decided early on, going out into the city and interviewing real people.

It was agreed, getting honest accounts from different people, from all walks of life, would be help our portrayals more authentic. Interviewing every day people in pubs, libraries and tube stations to name but a few locations.

This type of research and implementation of factual dialogue, opinion and events is better known as, Verbatim theatre. This a form of documentary theatre, in which productions are constructed from the words spoken by, people interviewed about a particular event or topic.

Besides asking about views on extremism, other races and people's own cultures and experiences growing up, the play also touches on actual events in history and the individuals involved. These included the IRA movement during Margaret Thatcher's time in office , African soldiers and the plight of many civilians of the continent, the perception of Islamic extremism and race relations in Britain. The research we did, coupled with the personal experiences of the actors themselves, along with dialogue from real life events in history that relate to the play, helped make Chris write a script that was brutally honest and authentic.

This certainly strengthened the bond between the script and the cast, and the commitment to delivering an electric portrayal of a poignant story, was evident in the many rehearsals undertaken, some all day sessions.

Stylistic staging, is also another aspect of drama, that featured heavily in Other Voices. Stylist staging is the performance past events with an injections of everyday narratives/rhetoric. With so many of the topics in the play, having real life correspondences, these methods of performing, became more and more relevant as the script developed.

Every one involved with the project learnt a lot about themselves and tackling such a powerful subject helped the entire cast grow as performers.

 The fantastic reaction to the play, by the audience, the young people especially, only confirmed the quality of the performance delivered by the theatre company.

The Cast and Characters were as follows:

(Alphabetical Order)

Faisal Ali - Youth 1, Soldier, Press.

Benjamin N Cawley - Mark Able, Pub Drinker 1, David Copeland, Lord McAlpine, John Kundy.

Femi Fagunwa - Muqtedar Khan, Interviewer.

Christopher Hallam - Terrorist 1, Irish Prisoner, Patrick McGee, Chris, Palestinian Student, Passer By.

Noor Lawson - Officer, Voice, Margaret Thatcher, Rachel Corrie.

Marlon McDonald - Sajjad Karim, Community Leader, Drake, Malcolm X, Norman Tebbit, Israeli Soldier.

Vernon Kizza Nxumalo - Gordon Brown, Youth 2, Pub Drinker 2, Luke, Mike Whine, Young Boy, Asian Youth.

Sara-Jane Perryman - Simone, Paramedic, Interviewee, Crawford, Voice.

Lettie Shiels - Witness, News Reader, Old Lady, Milly, Woman, Helper.

As part of our productions, MeWe Youth Theatre often have panel discussions after performances, as they give the audience the opportunity to engage more closely with the themes of the play.

The panellists on the night were: John Azah, (Director of Kingston Race and Equalities Council), Christopher Hallam (Writer and Director of the play 'Other Voices'), Ibrahim Lawson, (Head Teacher of the Al-Risaala school in Tooting), John Pendleton, (Acting Superintendent and part of the Kingston Prevent Sub-group). The open and honest discussion with cast members, the audience and guest panellists, about the issues raised in the play, as well as issues raised by the audience, rounded off a creative, productive, enjoyable and informative evening.

Another job well done.

This Months Must See

War Horse In The West End