"The project was excellent! It was extremely creative and stimulating and fun throughout, with a good balance between the different art forms".
Teacher - Blanche Neville School
"The artists sensitivity to BSL and Deaf culture was central to the success of the project – more please".
Teacher - Frank Barnes School
"Visiting Frank Barnes School was a great opportunity for our pupils to develop their deaf awareness and own identity as deaf pupils".
Teacher - Blanche Neville School
In spring 2003 a Unicorn commissioned play, Diary of an Action Man by Mike Kenny was produced in collaboration with Graeae Theatre Company. A Unicorn/Graeae Education Team worked with Frank Barnes School for the Deaf, Camden and the hearing-impaired unit at Blanche Neville Primary School, Haringey for a three-week residency project.
The team, consisting of disabled, Deaf and non-disabled artistes and Unicorn education staff and used art, music, drama to explore with the children some of the themes and characters of the play. The team drew on a wide range of communication skills, reflecting the integral role of sign language and audio description in the production and the children’s own language and forms of communication.
In the final week the children from both schools came together to share the discoveries they had made about the story.
The children worked together to produce a devised performance that drew on their explorations from the residency period.
Following the project the children went together to watch the production at Stratford Circus. Both the children and the adults in the cast benefited from a lively exchange after the show where both sides came together to share their experiences of the show.
This project was funded by St James’ Place, Royal Victoria Hall Foundation and Help a London Child.