The Visit of GCSE Drama Group from Chilton Cantelo School, England to Cherkasy First City Gymnasia, Ukraine
In 2010 the First City Gymnasia, UNESCO Associated School, Cherkasy, Ukraine, joined the British Council Program “Connecting Classrooms”. Much work has been done on the main projects of the program but the Bicentenary of Charles Dickens (1812-2012) has been paid special attention to and it’s no wonder because the students of the senior forms study the subject “English Literature” 2 lessons per week. Besides the school has competent and enthusiastic highly-qualified teachers of English Literature.
Compiling the plan of activities dedicated to this remarkable bicentenary we asked our honorary friend of the school Mr. Vic Jackopson, the former President of the International Charitable Christian Fund “Hope Now” (Great Britain) for help. We wanted to invite a group of students and teachers from a British school to perform a play based on Charles Dickens’ works. So Mr. Vic Jackopson made an announcement in his country and Mr. Julian Pomroy, a teacher of Drama from Chilton Cantelo School, Yeovil, Somerset (Headteacher Dr. J. Price), agreed to join the project. In January 2012 the correspondence by e-mail started among Mr. Vic Jackopson, Mr. Julian Pomroy and N. Ananieva, the Deputy Headteacher of Cherkasy First City Gymnasia. Moreover, Mr. Vic Jackopson visited the British school twice, had a meeting with the staff, students and their parents.
The teachers and students from Chilton Cantelo School arrived at First City Gymnasia on October 22, 2012. They were hosted by Ukrainian students and teachers. Their itinerary was packed with different events at school and travelling. The students planted the trees of friendship, participated in Big Dance with Ukrainian students, took part in the Ukrainian party etc. They travelled to Kyiv, Chyhyryn, Uman. The British and Ukrainian students and teachers visited also the orphanage in the village of Myhailivka, Katerynopolsky district, Cherkasy region. There are about 90 children there and Mr. Vic Jackopson helped to build a playroom, a library and a conservatory, in-door restrooms. Now a new school is being built there. The students brought sweets, biscuits and toys for the children of the internat (the orphanage).
One of the most important events in Kyiv was the acception of the Drama group and Mr. Vic Jackopson in the British Council. Mr. M. Dowel, the Director of the British Council in Ukraine, and Maria Zaharova, Partnerships and Projects Manager, didn’t only give a hearty welcome to the delegation but also organized a discussion of different problems and joint work in different projects which are of interest to teenagers. The teachers and students shared their impressions of the performance in Cherkasy. The possibilities of the exchange visit of the Ukrainian delegation were also discussed.
The highlight of the visit was definitely the performance of the Drama group and Mr. Vic Jackopson. The British GCSE Drama group consisted of 16-17 years old and they were studying Drama as one of their examination options. The title of the play is “Great Times and Bleak Twists”. All scenes in the play were adapted from Dickens’ novels to show some of the key themes in his childhood.
The performance starts with Mr. Vic Jackopson acting as Charles Dickens. He proves to be an excellent actor who penetrated deeply into the inner world of the character and whose acting was second to none. According to the scenario the play itself begins at Chilton Cantelo School where the students are getting ready for the lesson in Drama. Mr. Julian Pomroy arrives and sets up Dickens’ bicentenary. The first scene is about Charles’ parents discussing his school report and the first sign of debt. Then the student acting as Charles Dickens talks about the family, debtor’s prison and working in a blacking factory. Another scene is when David Copperfield arrives at Mr. Creakle’s school. He is treated badly by both the staff and the students. A scene based on “Great Expectations” shows the church yard where Pip meets the escaped convict and agrees to help him by stealing some food, drink and a file from the blacksmith’s forge. Miss Melanie Smith, another teacher of Drama from Chilton Cantelo School, introduces scenes from the novel “Oliver Twist”. Nancy and Beth discuss their difficult lives, including Nancy’s troubled love of the villainous Bill Sykes. Oliver meets Dodger and Charlie who agree to introduce him Fagin (the receiver of stolen goods). The scene ends with Bill Sykes and Fagin to whom Oliver is introduced.
On the stage of Cherkasy academic music-dramatic theatre named after T. Shevchenko. About 600 spectators and there were students of the First City Gymnasia, the Humanitarian Law Lyceum, Gymnasia 31 and the freshmen of the English language department of Cherkasy National University named after B. Khmelnytsky enjoyed the acting of the guests. It was true to life, passionate, interesting and overwhelming because it was in a foreign language. The event of such a big scale happened for the first time in the cultural life of the city and the Mayor of the City S. Odarych pointed out during the reception at the City Council that he would wholeheartedly support such projects in the city future because they make a big difference in the life of the residents.
We hope that the joint participation in the program “Connecting Classrooms” will contribute to establishing a twin-school relationship between Ukrainian and British schools.
N. Ananieva,
Deputy Head teacher,
School Coordinator of the British Council Program “Connecting Classrooms”
