Students put racism centre stage

‘This is England’

A group of students took to the stage recently to perform in a play confronting racism.

The production, This Is England, was adapted for the stage from director Shane Meadows’ gritty 2006 film about a teenage boy who joins a gang of skinheads in the early 1980s.

The play looks at the issues he faces when a new member joins the group and begins to take them down a more violent path.

The performance was attended by over 100 members of the public.

The students themselves found taking part in the play a hugely rewarding experience.

Tom Henthorne, 21, from Rochdale, played one of the main characters – gang member Combo, he said: “Playing Combo has been a really eye opening and interesting experience. We were challenged both in terms of style and content.

"I’m now in the final year of my studies and I’m really looking forward to developing and devising my own experimental work in the future.”

Director Helen Spurr said: “The students did a remarkable job, handling sensitive subjects with a great deal of maturity and professionalism. They also displayed fantastic acting ability.

"I am very keen to encourage students to develop and challenge themselves in terms of creating new and innovative works.

"There are so many possibilities within theatre and I want students to be able to take full advantage of them.”

Staff and students now hope to put on many more productions at the Hopwood Hall College Theatre which opened in March this year. The new facility, which seats 110 people, comes complete with a state of the art digital sounding, lighting system and control room. There is also a purpose built dance studio with sprung dance floor, two new workshop rooms and a stage craft room.