From March 2011 around 150 young people from all over Merseyside and the wider NW worked together to produce three unique performances inspired by their local heritage and the themes of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
The work they produced was as inspirational for the audiences as it was rewarding for the young participants and we are privileged to have worked with them.
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Using Court records, historical newspaper clippings and their own research at local libraries, museums and records offices, they examined the history of gang-related conflict in Liverpool and the role that the courtrooms of St. George's Hall have played in its narrative.
They consulted with local historians, authors and representatives of Merseyside Police and toured every corner of the building's courts, cells, public spaces and hidden corridors. They watched a professional production of Romeo and Juliet and discussed its themes with the cast and director and finally, they devised their own responses in dance, music and drama and performed them in the same venue - the magnificent 'Small Concert Room' in which Charles Dickens gave many readings and which he considered a "perfect room". |