Climate change film from M6 Theatre free for all Rochdale schools

Photo: Lewis Wileman

M6 Theatre presents The Storm

Like many theatre companies across the country, M6 had to cancel their tours in March 2020. But that hasn’t stopped the Rochdale-based organisation from creating work for children and young people all across the UK.

One of the affected shows, The Storm, has now been filmed and, alongside a comprehensive education package, is being offered free of charge to all secondary school pupils across Rochdale, in partnership with Rochdale Borough Council Education Service.

This film and teaching resource raises awareness of the climate emergency and is available for all 12,000 KS3 and 4 high school pupils across the district.

Set in 2050, The Storm is a powerful film set in an imagined future world which is shaped by the effects of climate change. Through partnership working, the ambition is to reach and inspire a quarter of a million young people across Greater Manchester.

Gilly Baskeyfield, Artistic Director of M6 Theatre Company, said: “Since many of our building-based projects have temporarily been put on hold, we’ve been hard at work creating new ways to serve our communities and audiences.

“As the threat of climate change grows ever closer, our new filmed version of The Storm asks, ‘what can we do?’

“We hope this resource will ignite imaginations and deepen the understanding of this crisis and help young people become agents for change. We must never think what we are doing doesn’t matter.”

The project has created 11 paid opportunities for freelance creatives during what has been a difficult time for many. Joining the in-house creative team are writer Nicola Schofield, film maker Leighton Wise, costume designer Alison Heffernan, Salford-based performer Kirsty Johnson, sound designer Mark Melville and lighting designer Jane Lalljee

The education package is available on the M6 website www.m6theatre.co.uk and is free of charge for all secondary teachers in Rochdale. The film is fully captioned and a BSL version is also available.

If you are outside the district and interested in the package, please contact admin@m6theatre.co.uk.