A major new project in collaboration with North Kensington communities
Posted
Today we announce a new multi-year creative project in collaboration with people and community organisations across North Kensington, to share first-hand the voices of people affected by the Grenfell tragedy.
The project, which includes a new verbatim play alongside an in-depth community engagement programme, will share the voices that are part of this important story and keep the tragedy of Grenfell part of the national conversation.
Grenfell: in the words of survivors
The verbatim play, written by Gillian Slovo, is created from years of in-depth conversations with bereaved and survivors and the wider North Kensington community, aiming to share their experiences and highlight what they feel justice would look like six years on.
The play will be told in three parts sharing first-hand accounts from community members; before the tragedy, the night of the tragedy and a final part which will represent the voices of survivors and bereaved and their continued campaign for justice through a short film made in collaboration with TEA films.
Half the tickets at every performance will be £20 or less, with tickets under £10 made available through targeted outreach to people facing barriers to attendance, financial or otherwise. People living across North Kensington will be invited to watch the production at the National Theatre for free.
“It has been my great privilege to help put the words of a group of survivors and bereaved onto the National Theatre stage.
I learned a tremendous amount about why the tragedy of Grenfell happened, but even more importantly I learned about a community which banded together when the state, both big and small, failed them. I ended up understanding that the story of Grenfell is not about a single event, but about the economic and political structures in which we live and how as a society we let this happen.”
Playwright Gillian Slovo
Q&A
How have survivors and bereaved families been involved in making the play?
This is a verbatim play made directly from the words of some survivors and bereaved of the Grenfell tragedy. Over the course of several years, playwright Gillian Slovo has been interviewing people about the impact of the tragedy. Gillian remains in direct contact with everyone who shared their experiences, and all were invited to a reading of the play during its development. The National Theatre’s Welfare Team have worked with Grenfell Health and Wellbeing Service to provide care and support.
Over the last twelve months the National Theatre has consulted with a wide range of organisations based in North Kensington, including community and youth groups, cultural organisations and educational institutions. We have established an advisory group, made up of survivors and bereaved, and community leaders, who we have consulted about the production and wider project, and who will continue to meet over the coming months.
Will the NT be making a profit from this play?
The National Theatre, a registered charity, is investing in both the production of this play and the community programme delivered in partnership with local organisations. We will not be making any profit from this work. We believe this is an important story of national significance that deserves to be told on a national stage.
How are you working with the North Kensington community?
The National Theatre will work with community-based organisations including Latimer Creative Art Therapy (LCAT), Our Power Hub, Youth Action Alliance and others. This includes workshops, free tickets for NT productions, paid long and short-term work placements, collaboration on creative projects and learning programmes in local schools for people who live, work, socialise or study in North Kensington.
If you are interested in hearing more about these placements, please contact thenorthkensingtonproject@nationaltheatre.org.uk.
What welfare support is in place for survivors and bereaved?
Welfare is paramount to this project.
The National Theatre’s Welfare Team are working with Grenfell Health and Wellbeing Service to ensure a coordinated approach to providing the care needed when working with the North Kensington community. We are working with therapists who are supporting the survivors and bereaved, as well as the creative team, the cast and all those involved in the play.
We are grateful to Grenfell Health and Wellbeing Service for their guidance and continued presence throughout the project.
What welfare support is in place for audience members affected by the play?
There will be welfare support present at all performances of the play, including: a trained Mental Health First Aider and first-aid trained Customer Service Assistants, a quiet space, self-care guides, an open-door policy where audience members will be free to go in and out of the auditorium as needed, and digital screens in the foyer for those who would like to continue watching the play outside.
Survivors and bereaved are being invited to specific performances where the welfare provisions will be increased, in recognition that they may find watching the play particularly upsetting and difficult.
Part of a multi-year programme of community activity with local organisations
In consultation with a wide range of community organisations in North Kensington, a programme of engagement activity will take place over the next two years with members of this community whose lives have been affected by the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
Our community programme will work with organisations to offer workshops, free tickets for productions, paid long and short-term work placements, collaboration on creative projects and learning programmes in local schools.
An Advisory Group has been formed to guide decisions on activity and the approach for the production, made up of survivors and bereaved and community leaders. Extensive welfare support has also been built in for contributors, audiences and staff including quiet spaces for audiences during performances.
“With each year that goes by our pain doesn’t stop but we must keep our stories alive and at the forefront of people’s minds.
When people watch this play, I have no doubt that they will want to do something, whether through word of mouth or through action. The domino effect of this is the power. The National Theatre is supporting us by taking our stories beyond our borders of North Kensington but is also supporting within our borders with the wider community project which is just as important. Throughout this process, I have felt supported by the team; everything has been on my own terms, and I felt that they truly knew me, and my family and they showed so much empathy, love and care.”
Hanan Wahabi, contributor and member of the Advisory Group
Grenfell: in the words of survivors will be staged in the Dorfman theatre from 13 July–26 August 2023.
Our community engagement programme in North Kensington is generously supported by John Lyon’s Charity. Grenfell: in the words of survivors is supported by the Arete Foundation, who support the National Theatre to make work that is ambitious and socially relevant.
More to explore
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