the latest news fromNovember 2014

We are hosting a ‘relaxed performance’ of the Royal Opera House’s brilliant production of The Wind in the Willows on Sunday, 11th January at 1.30pm.

Relaxed performances are adapted for young people with autism, learning diffi culties or other sensory diffi culties, providing them and their families a chance to enjoy a theatre visit without fear of discomfort, embarrassment or negativity. This is Mousetrap’s 3rd relaxed performance in the West End and we are thrilled to be working collaboratively with Nimax Theatres, CMP Limited, the Royal Opera House and the Society of London Theatre to present this special performance of this fanciful and colourful ballet.

This term we ran 2 stageseen days for deaf and hard of hearing young people, funded by City Bridge Trust, at Matilda the Musical. After a morning of workshops exploring the characters with deaf and hearing workshop leaders, the young people had a fantastic on-stage tour, before watching a captioned or signed performance.

Some participants are now taking part in stageseen scripted, an in-school, pilot to the main stageseen days supported by Ovingdean Hall Foundation. 3 playwrights are working with Deaf Units in 3 schools on this new project, which aims to improve participants’ creative writing, communication skills and confi dence by encouraging them to create written pieces of drama. The 24 students will see their pieces performed at a showcase in a West End theatre on 9th December by a mixed cast of deaf and hearing actors.

180 families had a fantastic evening at The Scottsboro Boys on 5th November. Families who have participated in our familyfi rstnights programme were invited to attend this award-winning musical with tickets from £2.50 - £10 thanks to the generosity of the show’s producer Paula Marie Black. Following thunderous applause, the entire cast came out to meet the families. We received so many thank yous, including this one:

“We really love bringing children who are in our care to the theatre. It gives them an experience that they talk about for a long time. Last night Crystal was so excited - hand clapping, toe tapping and giggling throughout the show. Well done FFN and a standing ovation to the Scottsboro Boys.”

We offered two playthecritc programmes this term – one focusing on The Play That Went Wrong and the other on The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.

After attending one of these two plays, students participated in a masterclass with professional critics to learn how to analyse and write a review. Masterclasses featured insightful talks and Q&A sessions from playwrights Henry Lewis, Johnathan Burke and Simon Stephens (pictured left). Critics Lyn Gardner, Matt Trueman, Fiona Mountford and Honour Bayes then delivered active, thought-provoking exercises to the students on measuring opinion, arguing persuasively and determining different tones of writing. Students will now see a show of their choice and write their own review.

The Scottsboro Boys All-Family Performance

Students playthecritic

The Wind In The Willows Relaxed Perfomance

stageseen scripted

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theatrelive4£5 The Big Give Our hugely popular audience development programme for 15 – 18 year olds, formerly C145, has changed its name to theatrelive4£5 as members of our Youth Forum wanted a name that makes the amazing price we offer clearer. Recent theatre outings for the 2,000+ members have included Once, The Commitments and The Scottsboro Boys. As the name suggests, all tickets are £5 and each event includes an after-show talk with members of the cast or production team.

Mousetrap is participating in The Big Give Christmas Challenge and we need the help of our supporters! If we raise £25,000 online we will receive £12,500 in matching funds from our Charity Champion, The Childhood Trust. Any donation from £5 - £5,000 counts. The Challenge begins on 4th December. Full details and the link to donate will be on our website shortly.