St Luke's Men’s Shed is not often found at arty cultural events, but an early peek at the Old St/New St theatrical project brought us one grey Sunday afternoon to one of the stately rooms inside Shoreditch Town Hall.
Old St/New St is a performance by a group of local teenagers who, using transcripts of interviews from residents around Islington and the City (including St Luke’s O55 members), tell stories about how our neighbourhood has changed over the years: The one-time council flats bought on the ‘Right to Buy’ of the 1980s now worth £730,000; the devastation of the Blitz in 1941 when German war bombing turned the whole area into an inferno.
The young actors obviously like the idea of impersonating local characters because their mimicry was so accurate I wanted to step in and add my own pennyworth. Touchy issues such as immigration and Brexit were all brought to life by 15-year-olds speaking the words of 70-year-olds. Their quirky mannerisms also spiced the performance, bringing a real sense of comic fun.
As a way of coaching young actors, using the oral histories of real people, is a brave and innovative idea that deserves to go a long way. So it’s hats off to the young professional actresses Rachael Spence and Lisa Hammond for bringing this fantastic show together with such style and vision. Let’s hope there are many more in the future.
For more information, please email rachaelspence@hotmail.com
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