LIVE PERFORMANCE
Featuring three brand new short plays and interactive installations created by MFYT and Young Leaders, When This Is Over was a celebration of possibility, hope, and the power of stories - capturing the extraordinary, funny, and surprising moments that can change our lives forever. When This Is Over was co-created over the course of 8 months by children and teenagers standing on the brink of an uncertain future, alongside professional artists. Devised by Mortal Fools in association with Company Three. Performed by arrangement with Nick Hern Books. |
Mortal Fools Youth Theatre were BACK ON STAGE, presenting their version of When This Is Over on Saturday 29th January 2022 to two big (nearly sold out!) crowds at Gosforth Civic Theatre. After world leaders gathered in Glasgow for COP26 to decide the future of the world, a group of children and young people came together in the North East of England, to tell the story of their lives - their past, present, and future. 
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DIGITAL SHOWCASE
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When This Is Over explored themes including young people's voices, climate emergency, the future, friendship, the value of community, human stories, and social action. We ran with those themes to work with even more young people and partners, and create an array of digital content. This was released as part of a digital showcase in May 2022. This digital content can be enjoyed at home, or used by community groups, youth theatres, home education groups, or schools - using our supplementary When This Is Over resource to engage with it more deeply and meaningfully. All the links can be found below: |
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When This is Over Flashback ReelFly Girl Films captured the experience of the When This Is Over live performance, from the perspective of our young performers, Mortal Fools facilitators, and live audience. The flashback reel features live performance snippets from all three MFYT groups. This piece is less than 7 minutes long and captioned. |
When This Is Over Community ResponsesOur live performance attendees and online community were invited to respond to four provocations linked to the themes of When This Is Over. We received 150+ responses, selected a few and asked Sheryl Jenkins to animate them. Each animation is less than 3 minutes long. Animation #1 - What are you grateful for?
Animation #2 - In a hundred years from now, what does our future look like?
Animation #3 - When you are gone, what do you want people to remember you for?
Animation #4 - What kind of world do you want to live in?
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COMPANY THREE
In 2021, Company Three and Nick Hern Books invited youth theatres like Mortal Fools to come together to tell the stories of the young people whose futures depend on a successful conference in Glasgow. The project purpose was to tell the stories of young people’s lives at a pivotal time in history, and to explore some of the pivotal moments that change your life forever.
In Spring/Summer 2021, as a project partner, Mortal Fools took part in an R&D to co-develop Company Three’s blueprint plays When This Is Over and 1-100 - which explore young people’s past, present, and future to provoke the audience to take social and environmental responsibility. We worked with our MFYT groups to explore the themes and create some content.
In Autumn 2021, the plays were fully produced from the blueprint scripts - into a live performance in January 2022 at Gosforth Civic Theatre, and a digital showcase for our YouTube channel.
In Spring/Summer 2021, as a project partner, Mortal Fools took part in an R&D to co-develop Company Three’s blueprint plays When This Is Over and 1-100 - which explore young people’s past, present, and future to provoke the audience to take social and environmental responsibility. We worked with our MFYT groups to explore the themes and create some content.
In Autumn 2021, the plays were fully produced from the blueprint scripts - into a live performance in January 2022 at Gosforth Civic Theatre, and a digital showcase for our YouTube channel.
When This is Over
When This Is Over is a live performance piece in which the young people onstage tell their life stories. They start with their birth, their childhood, and the recent past. Then the present, and the story of an imagined future as if it has already happened, all the way through to their death.
It’s very simple, but also really moving. Mortal Fools Youth Theatre explored the ‘7/10’ version of their future during their devising process – not wildly optimistic and not tragic - just a hopeful life that is still to be lived. We wanted the audience to feel responsible for it in some way, instead of relying on the next generation to save the world.
It’s very simple, but also really moving. Mortal Fools Youth Theatre explored the ‘7/10’ version of their future during their devising process – not wildly optimistic and not tragic - just a hopeful life that is still to be lived. We wanted the audience to feel responsible for it in some way, instead of relying on the next generation to save the world.
1 - 100
1 - 100 is a companion piece of When This Is Over, suitable for younger groups/performers. This piece consists of the group being given a sample of ages between 1-100 and creating pieces of performance in different forms to reflect or explore those ages/stages of their lives.
The Experience
This project provided an opportunity to connect and collaborate with other youth theatre groups nationally, develop our arts practice, co-create artistic content with young people in theatre-related artforms, and to further develop our audiences.
In addition to creating the plays and digital content, we also participated in Company Three gatherings, which were a forum for our MFYT members to connect with other young people from all across the country. The facilitated gatherings were online meet-ups for young people and leaders involved in the project to connect, share progress and experiences, and talk about the future of youth theatre and its role in the world.
You can find out more about Company Three on their website.
In addition to creating the plays and digital content, we also participated in Company Three gatherings, which were a forum for our MFYT members to connect with other young people from all across the country. The facilitated gatherings were online meet-ups for young people and leaders involved in the project to connect, share progress and experiences, and talk about the future of youth theatre and its role in the world.
You can find out more about Company Three on their website.
