Based in Cawthorne, Grass Roots Theatre Group as been in existence for 25 years. It has concentrated on working with young people between the ages of 8 and 16 but it has also staged three community dramas since 2000 and is about to stage A Distant Country at the Civic Theatre from Monday 7th to Thursday 10th June 2010.
A Distant Country has been specially written by Sylvia Le Breton who has written and directed several acclaimed community dramas including 'Profit & Loss' staged in 2008 in Silkstone. Sylvia studied drama at the Royal Northern School of Music and Drama and founded Grass Roots when she moved from Wiltshire to Barnsley.
A Distant Country follows the journey of Polish people who, during the war, were forced to leave their homes to travel thousands of miles to safety. Their journey took them through Siberia, Iran and Italy before reaching Barnsley.
The community dramas staged by the group have brought together large numbers of people, many have never acted or sung in public before but were 'persuaded' to take part by enthusiastic friends and relatives and lots of people help out with back stage duties. Each community drama is specially written and deals with local history.
The work with young people includes weekly workshops, theatre trips and an annual production. The junior and youth groups meet weekly during Autumn and Spring at either Silkstone or Cawthorne Schools.
Its amazing how much time an effort are devoted by so many people to local groups for the benefit of local communities. A Distant Country is an opportunity to see the results of the combined efforts of many local people, learn a little more about local history and, if you haven't already been to The Civic, you can discover what an excellent facility it is, right in the heart of Barnsley Town Centre.
Visit www.grass-roots.org.uk
Tickets available from www.barnsleycivic.co.uk