ESSAY

Intro- 100 words

In this essay I discuss, the past and current developments/influences of Theatre in Education in
England/Wales.

Roughly 320 per para

PRE BELGRADE-ORIGINS/ INFLUENCES

I believe that one of the first influences that led to the creation of theatre in education was the
Victorian society. It was this ever-changing society, that was being swept by two industrial
revolutions, that education became more accessible to young children. However the education that
working class children received was generally religious based or giving them minor skills to go into
work.1It wasn’t until the mid-20th century that the previous ideologies of the Victorian education
system, “skilling them for the job market.”, was challenged and in 1944 the education act declared
“It shall be the duty of the local education authority for every area, so far as their powers extend, to
continue towards the spiritual, mental and physical developments of the community.”2 In the 19th
century there had also been developments into looking at how children functioned on a cognitive
and physical level not to mention looking at the concept that children could “become active learners
rather than passive recipients of knowledge.”3 Raphael Samuel, social historian, found that in the
1920’s/30’s theatre was used as a political weapon, he suggests that Brecht’s influences/epic theatre
could’ve been a part of the catalyst that started T.I.E.4Brian Way was one of the main practioners
that had an influence on the concept of T.I.E n the 1940’s, when in 1946 he begun to link theatre
with education. His experience with T.I.E began when hired professional actors who had an in-depth
understanding of children and the education system to travel to schools to put on performances.
Brian way’s first play (Pinnochio-1951) was a way of using theatre as a stimulus for creativity.5
Following what Brian way had started with the yet to be finalised notion of T.I.E was the Belgrade
theatre’s first T.I.E company (1965) which really began to hit the ground running with the whole T.I.E
movement.6

LINKED TO BELGRADE ORIGINS

The 1960’s was a pivotal moment socially and politically which led to radical changes to society that
also effected the education system, leading to the presence of T.I.E in education. Gordon Vallins
took on the role of assistant director at the theatre in 1964 he was a motivated in his beliefs of
combining education with theatre. The Belgrade theatre had a connection with young people via
them being able to buy discounted theatre tickets, Young Stagers, but it was Vallins that put the idea
out about the young people coming together to devise a performance which led to the Belgrade’s

1
https://www.bl.uk/victorian-britain/articles/education-in-victorian-britain
2
TIE EDUCATION PACK PDF- PG 2
3
Theatre, education and performance- Helen Nicholson Pg. 38
4
Theatre, education and performance- Helen Nicholson Pg. 58
5
TIE EDUCATION PACK PDF- PG 2
6
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2006/mar/21/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries
first youth theatre, their first pieces was called “Into the ashes” and was about Coventry being re-
born after the second world war.7Helen Nicholson( Theatre, education and performance) suggests
that the performance, Into the ashes, “showed the potential for theatre to contribute to
education.”8The first T.I.E company via the Belgrade consisted of four people with experience in
teaching and theatre, they started by touring 3 pieces, one for infants, primary and secondary school
children, there we’re three different age groups to acknowledge the different educational abilities
and to grasp each group with a fun, attention grabbing performance. The ever-changing Belgrade
T.I.E theatre company always had the same beliefs about having this new engaging learning outlet as
a full-time part of the curriculum in schools. The company also wanted to give the teachers the skills
to run their own T.I.E in schools. When touring the company tried to create theatre that had
relevance to the areas local history, this was good as it allowed the children to get more involved
and immersed in the piece as they would already have an understanding or the relevance in the
pieces. 9Early on the company started to create engaging pieces for children with disabilities, I feel
that this was a good decision to consider that some children do not have the same; levels of social
skills, ways of thinking or have a fully functioning bodies, that may have been required for the
previous tour. Moving into the 70’s the company had a more political approach to work, like one of
the potential influences in the 1920’s, the economy was changing radically, and it changed the image
of their T.I.E. A decade later in the early 80’s they also added two interlinking pieces for adults and
the one for children in Coventry, it was addressing the problems with race, migration and other
cultures10

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

I believe one of the strengths of the movement was one of the initial theatre companies, the
Belgrade T.I.E company bring a new light to education. Although their company disbanded due to
costings I believe right now is also a strength of T.I.E as there is a lot of social and political stimuli in
abundance. Also, the fact that T.I.E has come so far and adapted to be where it is now.

CURRENT DAY TIE AND WHERE ITS FITS IN

The Education reform act of 1988 had a big impact on how T.I.E is presented today. Prior to the act
T.I.E companies were paid for by the government to come to schools, bringing a new style of
teaching to the young people, however after the act, the schools were given a set amount of
expenditures for the year and would then have to delegate money on what was needed, so T.I.E
theatre companies were less valued than other school materials, therefore regular visits from the
companies were cut and T.I.E company led lessons became less of a staple and more of a luxury that
few schools could afford.11The national curriculum also played a part in the Education reform act as
theatre companies work didn’t cover anything on the national curriculum, this may be why modern
T.I.E companies create work based off of subjects as to somehow contribute to the curriculum. Back
when T.I.E was established by the Belgrade, their performances revolved around using creativity,

7
TIE EDUCATION PACK PDF- PG 4
8
Theatre, education and performance- Helen Nicholson Pg. 65
9
TIE EDUCATION PACK PDF- PG 9
10
TIE EDUCATION PACK PDF- 13
11
www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/40/section/36/enacted
problem solving and life skills.12 In some ways T.I.E has now been broadened by coving a range of
subjects such as “Big Brum Theatre in Education” who cover subjects such as; English/Drama,
PSHE/Citizenship and RE. 13Another modern company, Spectacle, visits young offender’s institutes,
care homes, hospitals etc. This is a change from the Belgrade T.I.E theatre company where they
performed at schools, where now the audience has been broadened to get more outreach of this
kind of theatre.14 Spectacle also deliver a local, gender specific 10 week Programmes to tackle low
self-esteem, stress etc working in partnership with “Youth Offending services Rhondda Cynon Taff”
and ITEC, which gives them a level three qualifications and takes a step beyond T.I.E to continually
benefit them creatively through the arts.15

Conclusion- 300 words

In conclusion T.I.E has been moulded and effected by social/ political changes over the years, in
particular the Education Reform Act 1988. I believe that this may continue to grow and develop from
the small original local concept to where it is in this Politically/socially changing generation which
will then re-shape it for the next.

12
http://www.belgrade.co.uk/news-and-blogs/blogs/a-history-of-tie-in-10-productions/
13
https://www.bigbrum.org.uk/ourwork/
14
www.spectacletheatre.co.uk/about-us/
15
http://www.spectacletheatre.co.uk/casestudies/boys/