“I learnt a lot about African history, it has taught people.” (Seyram, 17 - performer in Journeys to Freedom)
Journeys to Freedom was a nine-part play cycle, celebrating the bicentenary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade, performed at Pegasus Theatre in March 2008.
The project involved 8 different groups of young people and adults between September 2007 and March 2008. Each group focused on creating a unique piece about a real person from Black history or interpreting a cultural story. The project involved 23 professional artists. Most had an existing relationship with Pegasus over the years: some having had their first artistic break in this country performing at the theatre; others had been artists or tutors on previous projects or were once Oxford Youth Theatre members themselves.15 of these artists were African or Black British.
This epic production was performed twice over by each group during one week at the end of March 2008 and involved 150 young people and adults aged 6 plus - 140 performing and at least 10 working on the technical and backstage elements of the production.
“We did really great songs and dances, and it was good watching the other pieces” (Sophia, 10 - performer in Journeys To Freedom)
“It was good as well as being in our own separate groups, in the finale it made us feel we were part of some big family” (Alex, 11 - performer in Journeys To Freedom)
To download a case study of the project click here. (This is a .pdf file 246.5kb in size)