New Citizens Theatre Production For Young People Will Launch In Glasgow Schools

The Citizens Theatre will bring the magic of live theatre into the classroom this March, with pupils at two Gorbals primary schools set to enjoy a brand-new production created especially for younger audiences.

Maud's Map, a richly imaginative show based on a book by theatre-maker Jen Edgar, will be performed for pupils at St Francis' Primary School and Blackfriars Primary School in the Citizens Theatre's home neighbourhood of the Gorbals. Created and presented with a full professional team, the show addresses the power of self-belief as a young person, and the big feelings and emotions that sometimes come with growing up.

Maud and her Mum are explorers, pioneers beyond compare. They are curious, courageous and together they make a seemingly unstoppable team. Until one day Maud wakes up feeling a little different than usual, with a new heaviness sitting inside her. Unable to ignore it and scared about letting down her mum, especially since they both lost her dad, Maud decides to strike out on her own and find the source of this bad feeling.

Taking in a journey through wild landscapes, emotions, questions and discoveries, Maud discovers how to harness her inner strength and heal the hole that's in her heart. Packed with visual imagination and whimsical design, Maud's Map encourages every young explorer to be brave and map out the world that's living in them.

Led by Citizens Theatre's Head of Creative Learning Catrin Evans as Director, Maud's Map will be performed by celebrated children's theatre-maker Rosalind Sydney and Taylor Goodwin, recently seen in the Tron Theatre's acclaimed all-female production of The Tempest. The show will feature set, costume and puppet design by Jenny Booth and sound design from Niroshini Thambar, and will also feature evocative puppetry created by Ailie Cohen.

Ahead of the production Primary 4 pupils at the schools will have the chance to directly contribute to the show, working with the schools team led by Carly McCaig and Zephyr Liddell, and the show's creative team to create unique performances, props, and sound pieces that will form a part of the performances in March. The show will also form part of a wider classroom resource, with pupils enjoying creative workshops exploring the show's themes of emotional literacy and confidence.

Writer and Movement Director Jen Edgar said:

"I'm absolutely thrilled that Maud's Map has found a home at the Citizens Theatre. Maud started life as a picture book which I wrote and illustrated in 2020. It was Catrin Evans, Head of Creative Learning at the Citizens Theatre, who saw a theatrical potential in the story which I hadn't. She asked me to adapt the book into a play, and I immediately accepted the challenge. Bringing the story to life with the fantastic creative team has been a dream come true. It's a privilege to share Maud's Map with the children in the Gorbals community. My hope is that Maud will entertain and inspire all of the children and grown-ups who come to meet her."

Maud's Map is the culmination of the Citizens Theatre's Gorbals Primary Schools residency - an exciting new engagement project which has seen the company's Creative Learning team take up residence in two local schools, St Francis' Primary and Blackfriars Primary, between September 2022 and March 2023.

The project has seen teachers and more than two-hundred P4 and P7 pupils benefit from in-school creative workshops led by the Citizens Theatre team, helping to inspire confidence in performing arts, from drama skills to communication.

Pupils have also been able to directly take part in two new productions including Maud's Map and 2022 family Christmas show Red Riding Hood, for which the P7 classes created a special curtain raiser performance, working alongside professional theatre teams and performing for their schools, friends, and family. More than 600 pupils from the wider school community will also have attended performances of each show. It has also been an opportunity for local young people to engage with the work of the entire Citizens Theatre team, from creatives to wardrobe, sound, and marketing.

The Primary Schools residency is a key touchstone of the Citizens Theatre's 'homecoming' plans, helping to forge and enrich connections with local Gorbals and Southside neighbours, ahead of the company celebrating the return home to its iconic Gorbals venue when the redeveloped Citizens Theatre opens in 2024.

Catrin Evans, Citizens Theatre Head of Creative Learning and Artistic Director of Maud's Map said:

"I loved Maud's Map from the moment I read it - it's exactly the sort of story that I want us to offer young people - full of heart, emotional depth and plenty of silliness and hope. It has been a joy to work on it with our talented creative team and cast. Jen Edgar has created such relatable characters for the school children in the Gorbals and the show has huge long-term potential. This Citizens Theatre residency is such an important part of building our relationships with our neighbours and across communities. It is great that the workshops are already underway. We look forward to welcoming these young people into our building when we reopen next year."