Diversity, equality and inclusion
We're working to improve our GCSE (9-1) Drama qualification...
We believe that the GCSE Drama curriculum should be representative and inclusive of all learners.
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In 2021, as part of our continued commitment to diversity and inclusion, we added four new performance texts to ensure that the choice for teachers is broader and more representative. This decision has been taken following the work we have been doing with The Royal Court Theatre and London Theatre Consortium on decolonising the curriculum.
A Doll’s House, Henrik Ibsen, adapted by Tanika Gupta
Tanika Gupta transposes the setting of Ibsen’s classic play to India in 1879 where ‘Nora’, now Niru, is an Indian woman married to ‘Torvald’, now Tom, an English man working for the British Colonial Administration in Calcutta. Niru risks her own reputation in order to save her husband’s and in the process discovers herself. This new version of A Doll’s House takes a fresh look at the play shining a light on British colonial history and race relations as well as gender politics and class.
Antigone, Sophocles, adapted by Roy Williams
This is Antigone set in an Ancient Greece that looks and sounds like today's street culture: Creon, the king who stirs up his niece to revolt by his unjust treatment of her dead brother, becomes gang boss Creo, with the heroine herself re-named Tig. Creo refusing to bury the body of Tig’s unruly brother, Antigone's anger quickly turns to defiance. Creon condemns her to a torturous death: she's to be buried alive.
List B (post-2000):
Gone Too Far!, Bola Agbaje
Nigeria, England, America, Jamaica; are you proud of where you're from? Dark skinned, light skinned, afro, weaves, who are your true brothers and sisters?
When two brothers from different continents go down the street to buy a pint of milk, they lift the lid on a disunited nation where everyone wants to be an individual, but no one wants to stand out from the crowd.
This is a comic and astute play about identity, history and culture. Portraying a world where respect is always demanded but rarely freely given.
Set on a London housing estate it depicts the experience of young multicultural Londoners and the issues of identity and culture that both unite and divide the characters.
The Free9, In-Sook Chappell
Based on the true story of the Laos Nine as a starting point the play interrogates the ideas of hope, escape and cultural difference.
Nine teenagers have fled North Korea and dream of their escape and a new life in the South. Their journey is far from over and with threats around every corner, perhaps the mysterious figure of The Big Brother can help them or is he the very person they’re running from. Their lives hang in the balance and could it all ultimately come down to a garish South Korean gameshow?
Additional Support
The London Theatre Consortium has an initiative called Representation in Drama (RinD) and they have created a set of filmed resources to support the study of these four texts.
#IfIWere competition
Ever imagined yourself at the centre of your favourite drama?
On 1 March, we’re launching #IfIWere – a social media competition to turn the table on well-loved plays and performances.
From the classic to the contemporary, we are inviting pupils, teachers and representatives from the education and theatre world to reimagine the story, characters and outcomes of their favourite drama texts, plays or performances from their perspective.
There's £300 worth of Theatre Tokens up for grabs - as well as other prizes for your school!
