Peer Productions win The Youth Volunteering Award!
Posted by Anthony on 06 December 2024
This pioneering project has seen the creation of a powerful piece of theatre to help explore the complex issues of eating disorders and body image, acted out by hard-working young volunteers helping to educate their peers.
Theatre and education company Peer Productions developed The Body Image Project together with The Succeed Foundation.
The result was a 70-minute play, which has already been seen by 5000 young people in schools across Surrey, Bracknell Forest, Berkshire, Rushmoor in Hampshire, and parts of London. Young volunteers developed concept with Peer Productions director Nina Lemon, delivering workshops in schools to explore pupils' understanding of eating disorders and body image, and then helping create the characters and the story.
Succeed and Peer Productions also worked closely with young people from eating disorder charity Beat and gained support and input from the charity Men Get Eating Disorders Too. The play is performed by a cast of 11 young actors who play multiple roles. They had just three and a half weeks to rehearse before kicking off a tour of 34 performances.
A support pack for schools and teachers has been created to accompany the play. More than 60 per cent of respondents feel the play has made them more aware of eating disorders, according to an anonymous online survey for audience members to complete after seeing the production. In addition, 58 per cent said it had taught them about the seriousness of issues linked to body image.
"I really love the approach this takes in tackling the taboo subject of body image and eating disorders through the medium of theatre and art," said one of the young judges.
Shared via the charity The Children and Young People Now http://www.cypnawards.com
Peer Productions: http://peerproductions.co.uk/