Traverse Theatre's Education Project, Class Act, Returns for 26th Year

Traverse Theatre's flagship education project, Class Act, returns for 26th year. Traverse will be working with the National Theatre of Scotland and Bòrd na Gàidhlig to create a new Gaelic strand of the project. Class Act: International Symposium 2017 brings together a selection of playwrights, theatre producers, teachers and former student participants for the first time ever. Class Act will travel to India as part of the British Council's UK/India 2017 Season, supported by the British Council, Creative Scotland and the Scottish Government.

Class Act 2017

The Traverse Theatre's flagship education project, Class Act, returns for what will be its 26th year. This year marks a Class Act first, with the Traverse working with the National Theatre of Scotland and Bòrd na Gàidhlig to create a new Gaelic strand of the project, supporting pupils from James Gillespie's High School to create short plays written in the Gaelic language, to be captioned and presented alongside the work of pupils from Drummond Community High School, Liberton High School and The Royal High School.

Working with 67 young people from across the four schools, the Class Act 2017 students will have the support and mentorship of playwrights Catherine Grosvenor, Alison Lang, Nicola McCartney and May Sumbwanyambe, creating 27 new mini plays which speak to the world they live in.

Traverse 1 will host two evenings of performances - Wednesday 22 and Thursday 23 November - premiering on the stage the finished work of this next generation of young playwrights.

Class Act: International Symposium 2017

Alongside these performances, the Traverse, in association with the University of Edinburgh, will also bring together a selection of playwrights, theatre producers, teachers and former student participants to present the first ever Class Act: International Symposium 2017 on Friday 24 November. Another first for Class Act, the symposium will reflect on the project, its methodology, history and future, with myriad international guest speakers - notably Russian playwright brothers Vyecheslav and Mikhail Durnenkov, and Ukranian playwright Natal'ya Vorozhbit, who have taken the project into their own countries.

Class Act Mumbai

Then, come January 2018, the Traverse is delighted to produce Class Act Mumbai, working with RAGE productions and young people across the city of Mumbai as part of the British Council's UK/India 2017 Season, supported by the British Council, Creative Scotland and the Scottish Government. Class Act Mumbai will see Scottish playwrights and directors collaborate with Indian artists through a series of playwright-led workshops and script development, providing an innovative creative learning experience, promoting cultural collaboration and delivering Class Act's mission of advocating access to the arts for all.

Sunniva Ramsey, Traverse Theatre's Creative Producer (Learning), says: 'Class Act is founded on the principal of utilising writing for the stage as a vehicle for young people to explore and respond to the world around them. Whilst the project changes every year, as it connects to the interests of the young playwrights, issues of communication and identity remain a consistent theme. Working with Gaelic language students for the first time has brought this undercurrent of exploring communication into sharp relief - allowing the young playwrights to express themselves on certain topics, and encouraging our Gaelic writers to explore what Gaelic language theatre unlocks in responses from audiences, has been incredibly interesting. All of the 67 young people taking part have boundless creativity and unique perspectives, and we look forward to sharing their work with an audience.

'We're also thrilled to be taking Class Act to Mumbai in January 2018. Kicking of our Year of Young People celebrations, the project will see five Scottish artists working with Indian theatre makers and young people. Having the opportunity to listen and creatively respond to the issues that young people across Mumbai want to cover will be an enlightening and enriching experience.'

Nicola McCartney, playwright and Reader in Writing for Performance, University of Edinburgh, says: 'Class Act is the most dynamic, life-changing social theatre project - and that's just for the professional playwrights. It is a privilege to have been involved in its delivery in Scotland and internationally for 20 years, and to help deliver the first ever conversation between all international partners - Class Act: International Symposium 2017. We will be joined by Natal'ya Vorozhbit from Ukraine, whose play Bad Roads is about to open at the Royal Court, and the Durnenkov brothers, two of Russia's leading playwrights. Each has led a significant Class Act project in their own countries which has sought to address social and political issues within their societies. We will also discuss Class Act Mumbai to come in January 2018 and a possible future Class Act International, bringing young people from all over Europe to Edinburgh to write plays. It's a very exciting event to be involved in.'

For more information, contact the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Box Office at 0131 228 1404 or go online here.