Applied Theatre

"The results always show an increased level of understanding and awareness of the topics explored which is extremely positive and highlights a high level of impact… The team are so flexible, professional and passionate – and I would recommend them to anyone"

– Georgina Summers, Safeguarding in Education Manager at Gloucestershire Safeguarding Partnership

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Georgina (George) Summers is the Safeguarding in Education Manager at Gloucestershire Safeguarding Children Partnership. In her role, George is responsible for delivering traded services to schools across Gloucestershire on general safeguarding and child protection. We spoke to Georgina to find out more about her experiences of working with Narrative Alchemy Co-Artistic Director, Sean McGrath.

How did you first connect with Sean?

I first met Sean in 2011 after my predecessor at Gloucestershire County Council made contact with him following a recommendation. It all started with a play called ‘Chelsea’s Story’, which at that time was called ‘Chelsea’s Choice’. I remember Sean came in to read the play to us before it was delivered in schools, and, even though he was simply reading the lines from a page and not performing it, we were all so moved and could instantly see the impact it would have on the children. Fast forward to 2023, and we have never looked back – we now have Sean and his team in schools across Gloucestershire each and every year.

What year groups do you invite the team into and how many students are in a typical session?

It totally depends on the individual performances that Sean and his team deliver. Firstly, ‘In the Net’, which is centred around an early introduction to sexual exploitation, we target at Year 4 pupils. Some of our primary schools have an extremely small cohort so we invite one school to host the play, and then three other local schools come along to the performance, meaning we get about 300 pupils in each session.

Next, is ‘Chelsea’s Story’ which we target at Year 8 students as it is a continuation of ‘In the Net’ and explores more adult themes. Each school gets its own performance and we offer 48 performances a year across the county – hitting roughly 9,000 young people. We also occasionally have the team in to deliver ‘County Lines’ to our Year 9 students as it raises awareness of child criminal exploitation.

Ultimately, we give schools a choice in which year group each performance is delivered to. For example, if a school felt ‘In the Net’ was more suited to its Year 3 cohort, they have the freedom and autonomy to deliver it to this year group instead.

How are these topics chosen?

The individual topics are mainly chosen through the priorities of the Gloucestershire Safeguarding Children Partnership. However, we do also ask schools for their input and staff often tell us what certain issues or topics they want to focus on so we can respond accordingly.  I think all involved really value this joint and flexible approach.

What kind of impact do you see and hear about from the schools following the bookings?

Impact is fairly hard to measure as a lot of the work is preventative, however, Sean does circulate a feedback form to around 1,000 students a year which gauges knowledge pre-performance compared with post-performance. The results always show an increased level of understanding and awareness of the topics explored which is extremely positive and highlights a high level of impact.  A student will also make a disclosure to a member of Sean’s staff after almost every performance. Sean’s team are highly trained and work with Safeguarding Leads in schools to ensure this is properly followed up and dealt with.

Do you have plans to continue the momentum and work with Sean in the future?

We absolutely do. We are certainly planning on continuing our programme of existing performances and are now exploring the possibility to deliver a new performance called ‘Breaking the Chain’ following a number of recent knife crime incidents across Gloucestershire. Sean and the team are so flexible, professional and passionate – and I would recommend them to anyone.


Our awareness raising plays and films are used by primary and secondary schools, the police, the military and corporate settings to improve awareness of, and inspire conversation about, modern challenges such as bullying, child exploitation, knife crime, domestic abuse and more.  

If you'd like to book a project or commission us to develop something new, get in touch with our booking agents, Theatre for Schools, on 0161 236 1448 or click here to enquire.

IN DEVELOPMENT FOR EARLY 2025 - Critical State


In a world of misinformation and misleading content, conspiracy theories, and extremist narratives, where does responsibility for our actions lie?  More importantly... what can be done?

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The project is being developed to help young people navigate the often overwhelming world of conspiracy theories, fake news, and extreme online content. 

Through the play, post-show discussion, and resource pack, we hope to empower students with the tools they need to critically assess the information they encounter and recognise the underlying psychological factors that make them vulnerable to misinformation. The project also aims to highlight the real-world consequences of getting involved in these harmful belief systems.


The play will focus on three characters, each drawn into conspiracy theories for different reasons. Each character’s story will highlight a specific psychological need being fulfilled by these beliefs: the search for answers, the need for control, and the longing for social connection or social standing.  Their experiences will show how conspiracy theories can exploit different aspects of our lives in ways that are more complex than they first appear.



The project's aims include:-


We hope to help students distinguish between clickbait, which is designed to manipulate emotions and attract attention, and credible, fact-based journalism. Sensationalist content often appeals to people's need for certainty, using emotional triggers such as fear, anger, or shock to drive engagement. Through practical examples, we hope to show how misleading content preys on this need and how recognising these emotional manipulations is crucial to avoiding clickbait and misinformation.


Conspiracy theories can offer comfort, particularly when the world feels uncertain or uncontrollable. Each character in 'Critical State' represents a different reason for why people become entangled in these beliefs. We will explore how conspiracy theories meet the epistemic need for answers, the existential need for control, and the social need for belonging, and how these needs can draw individuals into increasingly extreme content.

We hope to build critical thinking skills, encouraging students to question the information they encounter. Through the characters’ journeys, we explore the cognitive traps, such as confirmation bias, that cause individuals to seek out only the information that aligns with their pre-existing beliefs. By challenging this tendency and teaching students how to evaluate sources, we hope to empower them to make informed decisions and avoid being drawn into harmful narratives.

Conspiracy theories often fulfil deeper emotional or social needs, but they do so in damaging ways. We hope to help students develop positive behavioural frameworks that allow them to manage uncertainty, social pressure, and emotional responses constructively. By helping students recognise that their need for control, safety, or belonging is natural, we aim to provide healthier ways to fulfil these needs - such as through emotional regulation, media literacy, and constructive social engagement. Developing these skills helps students build resilience against misinformation and conspiracy theories.

We hope to raise awareness of the real-world consequences of believing and acting on conspiracy theories. Through the characters’ experiences, we show how misinformation can lead to personal consequences, such as isolation from family and friends, and societal consequences, like the breakdown of trust in public institutions. In extreme cases, engagement with dangerous online content can lead to more severe behaviours, such as criminal activity or violence. Our project aims to highlight the very real impact these beliefs can have on individuals and communities.

Knowing where to turn when overwhelmed by misinformation or conspiracy content is vital. We hope to provide students with clear paths for help and support, including trusted sources such as teachers, counsellors, and mental health professionals. We want to empower young people to seek advice when needed, ensuring they feel supported and informed when navigating the complexities of information in today’s digital world.

Suitable for:-


To enquire please contact us at admin@narrativealchemy.co.uk

Chelsea's Story is our internationally renowned applied theatre play that has proven highly effective in raising awareness around the sensitive issue of Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)


It tells the story of two students who discover the diary of a girl called Chelsea.  Chelsea was a 15-year-old girl who, having fallen out with her family and friends, met a guy called Gary.  Gary was kind, understanding, had a nice car, had his own flat, and listened to her.  Unfortunately, Gary was not all that he seemed!  Chelsea’s Story is played out and examined by the two students who, along with their teacher, attempt to understand what happened.

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The play and post show talk lasts for 55 minutes and has proven highly effective at raising awareness around:-

Suitable for:-


To enquire please contact or booking agents, Theatre for Schools, on 0161 236 1448 or click here to enquire.

CountyLines is our innovative applied theatre play that raises awareness around the County Lines model of Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE)


Meet Dex.  He’s a nice guy.  He’ll offer you money.  He’ll offer you drugs.  He’ll be generous.  He’ll make you feel important.  He’ll make you feel part of something.  He’ll make your life exciting.  He’ll do whatever it takes to get you working for him and his mates… and when you do…


Meet Dex.  He’s a scary guy.  He’ll say you owe him money.  He’ll make you deal drugs and move packages.  He’ll blackmail you.  He’ll be violent.  He’ll make you terrified.  He’ll threaten your family.  He’ll turn your life upside down.  He’ll do whatever it takes to keep you working for him and his mates…  and he’s good at it!

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The play and post-show talk last for 55 minutes and raises awareness around:-

Suitable for:-


To enquire please contact or booking agents, Theatre for Schools, on 0161 236 1448 or click here to enquire.



Unacceptable examines sexism, sexual harassment and sexual violence, which, unfortunately, are an issue for every school in every community in the UK.  In order to combat these issues we need to understand and raise awareness of what they are, what creates them, and what can be done to expose, and respond to, the harmful attitudes that perpetuate harassment and gender injustice.


Friends Oli and Kalyn confront their mate Adam, who has been saying and posting some worrying things lately.  They have decided to stage an intervention and are going to explain to Adam what sexism is, the differing forms that it can take, and the impact that it can have.

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The play and post-show talk lasts for 55 minutes and covers:-

 

Suitable for:-


To enquire please contact or booking agents, Theatre for Schools, on 0161 236 1448 or click here to enquire.

Breaking the Chain is a hard-hitting applied theatre production that aims to raise awareness, kick-start conversations and build resilience around youth violence – with a focus on knife crime – as part of a public health approach to tackling the issue – an issue that is seeing young people seriously hurt and, all too often, killed on the streets of our towns and cities.


Recently out of prison and trying to turn his life around, Tyler is worried about his younger brother Zeke and his friend Danny.  Zeke and Danny have started carrying knives and Tyler is desperate to ensure that they don’t make the same mistakes that he’s made in the past.  The play follows them over the course of one day as the tensions are mounting and Tyler must intervene to avoid a tragedy and try to talk them all into breaking the chain.

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The play and post-show talk lasts for 55 minutes and aims to raise awareness around:-

 

Suitable for:-


To enquire please contact us at admin@narrativealchemy.co.uk

Going to Extremes was developed out of a growing need to kick-start conversations and build resilience around extremism and radicalisation.


Exploring far-right as well as Islamist-inspired extremism, the muti-media play looks at what happened to three young people that found themselves targeted by individuals or groups that wanted to use them for their own agenda. Danny, a young man who was angry that his parents had separated, found himself getting involved with a far-right group. Ayesha, a young girl who wanted to be a nurse, was targeted online by a group that wanted her to go out to Syria to help Isis and Kamal, a young man who had issues fitting in with his community, found himself out in the desert training to fight a holy war. Using simple story-telling techniques their stories are played out and examined in an attempt to understand how and why they were targeted and how young people can be resilient to this sort of thing happening in the first place by encouraging an open dialogue and conversations about the issues as well as empathy, understanding and respect for others’ views and beliefs.

 

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The play and post-show talk lasts for 75 minutes and aims to raise awareness around:-

 

Suitable for:-


To enquire please contact us at admin@narrativealchemy.co.uk



In the Net is a fun and friendly applied theatre production for primary schools (year 4+), that aims to raise awareness around e-safety and online bullying.


Dotty has just got a shiny new ipad, but she’s not being too safe online. She’s posting personal information, chatting to strangers and making rude comments about school friends. When her behaviour results in her being pulled into the computer Dotty finds herself caught 'In the Net' and she must go on a hero's journey – a hero's journey to find out how to be safer and nicer to people online.

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The play lasts for 55 minutes and aims to raise awareness around:-


Suitable for:-


To enquire please contact us directly at admin@narrativealchemy.co.uk

Behind Closed Doors is a hard-hitting applied theatre production that was developed in association with The City of London Police to raise awareness amongst police officers, social workers, NHS staff, and other professionals of the issues surrounding Domestic Abuse & Violence. 

It was developed in response to the HMIC ‘Everyone’s Business’ report into improving the Police’s response to Domestic Abuse and tells the story of Anna.  Anna was smart, had a good job and had fallen in love with Jay.  Unfortunately Jay was not all that he seemed to be.  Anna’s story is played out and examined in an attempt to understand what happened to her, how others could have helped, and how the tragic ending could have been prevented.


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The play and post-show talk lasts for 60 minutes and aims to raise awareness around:-

 

Suitable for:-


To enquire please contact us at admin@narrativealchemy.co.uk

Beyond the Warzone is the military adaptation of our Behind Closed Doors project - raising awareness and kickstarting conversations around Domestic Abuse & Violence in military settings.


The project is funded by the MoD and is regularly delivered to both Army and Navy personnel around the UK

find out more

The play and post-show talk lasts for 60 minutes and aims to raise awareness around:-

 


Suitable for:-


To enquire please contact us at admin@narrativealchemy.co.uk