Chiltern Centre actors stage magic adventure

THE Chiltern Centre in Henley is putting on another theatrical show.

The charity, which supports young adults aged 16 to 30 with learning disabilities, staged Bahdoon: The Lion’s Triumph last year.

Now 11 members of its Buddies group, aged 18 to 25, are to perform The Silent Boy, which is partly inspired by the story of Pandora’s Box.

A boy, living in a land in the distant future, chooses to remain silent. Falling asleep in front of a campfire, his dream takes him on travels far from his loved ones, where he faces many challenges until he discovers a mysterious box.

The piece was created by music therapist Gareth John and drama therapist Sara Griffiths.

Gareth says: “I’ve known the centre and its wonderful young people for quite a long time.

“We were asked last year to do a performance, so I brought Sara on board and we decided to use our skills as therapists and draw out from the young people their individual voices and ways of communicating.

“To do that, we looked into immersive theatre, which is improvisatory in many ways. It follows a clear structure but has enough space for spontaneity.

“That worked well because there were obviously lots of things to consider with the young people’s various individual needs as well as movement on stage for some with mobility, visual and cognitive issues.

“All these things needed to be accounted for and put together in a big swirly pool of creation and we had fun doing it.”

Gareth says the Buddies did lots of reading about fairytales, myths and legends and embraced the ideas. He says: “Last year we came up with a story of Bahdoon, a lion cub born slightly different and therefore unable to fit into his pride in a normal way.

“As a result, the pride reject the offspring and he goes and lives a life outside but always looking in. He gets his moment to save the pride from a dragon that constantly swoops over the village. He did so because he’d learned to live differently because of his new environment.

“There’s a duality between that and people with learning disabilities living in a society and also being slightly on the outskirts of it but who have great adaption skills.

“The show was brilliant. It was our first venture into theatreland and we really enjoyed it. The young people were blown away by their achievements and so were their parents.”

This time, the story has moved location. Gareth says: “We talked to the young people about what they liked about last year’s show and they said they loved being in the jungle, so we translated that to the woods this year.

“We have done lots of work around hiding and working in the shadows, being in light and under canopies and trees and being animals, so, for the story this year, there’s a village in a magical wood and it is actually a dead wood and we don’t know why.

“One day, a boy, who is rarely spoken to by his family and just can’t find his voice, decides to go wandering in the woods. After lots of magical adventures, he sees this box and all the evil that comes out of it. Eventually, he manages to shut the box and it is burnt.

“As the ashes are scattered on the way back to his village, the woodland is regenerated.

“Last year was much more about the young people’s concept of moving into performance but this year we’ve discovered what sticks.

“They remembered their theatrical skills, their understanding of space and standing on stage so we were able to move forward at a broader pace.”

The performers are Cam, Michael, Jessica, Amelia, Erin, Sophie, Alice, Caroline, Zoe, Dan and Rachel.

Gareth says: “Regardless of someone’s condition, art is really a window and a communicator for all so it would be really lovely to invite people along to be fully immersed in this wonderful event.”

• The Chiltern Centre presents The Silent Boy at the Kenton Theatre in New Street, Henley, on Sunday (June 2) at 3pm. Tickets cost £11.50 adults, £6.50 children (family tickets £30). For more information or to buy tickets, call (01491) 525050 or visit thekenton.org.uk