Free For All

Free For All Worcester

What an amazing week we have just had to finish the Free For All tour in Worcester!  It's been a long break since Sierra Leone, and we were all a bit rusty on the workshops, but it all came flooding back as we led over 650 children between Tuesday and Friday through the history of the slave trade abolition.

Worcester Cathedral was also celebrating the 1000 anniversary of the birth of St Wulfstan who was a very key figure against slavery way before Wilberforce was ever thought of!  So, Dan worked in some new scenes for the children to act out showing the story of St Wulfstan and how he became the bishop of Worcester, and remained the only bishop at one point due to William the Conqueror's admiration of him.

Ade worked with some singers on the Friday and together they produced an amazing rendition of Swing Low, Sweat Chariot.  Many thanks to Sue Adeney, Schools Officer, who pulled together such a full week, and also to the teachers who were so keen to get stuck in.

The stars of the week were of course those children who took part.  You'll hear some of them on next month's trax16 podcast, and you can see pictures of them here.

So, we would like to thank all the team who have helped made this tour happen.

To the actors and singers:  Sian, Zoe, Ade, Lloyd, Willan, Yo and Marcus.
Sierra Leone team: Judith, Lisa and Charlie
Creator:  Dan
CMS team: Anita, Dave and Mike

We have been joined by several others throughout the year who have given over their time and energy to the project - thank you.

Moyamba, Bo and home

We left early to get to Moyamba in good time. It meant traveling on some rough roads and in all it took us about 4 hours to get there. On the journey we saw many burned out buildings where rebels in the civil war had left their mark and many obsolete train stations. We arrived in the village and was led into a mud and wooden building, which was in fact the school. Inside sat 100 or so children and teachers and we sat on a top table. The school head welcomed us and after greetings and introductions we were treated to a cultural programme of African dance. The singing and rhythms banged out on the drums and percussion instruments made our ears tingle and it was an amazing welcome. We were shown the school being built - a concrete structure which seemed a bit out of place with the rest of the village. They explained that further money was still needed for its completion. After returning to the current school we said our goodbyes and continued on to Bo.

Bo is Sierra Leone's second city and unlike Freetown is supplied by electricity, although only a few buildings seemed to be connected. The cathedral was smaller than Freetown but the space to work in was actually bigger. There seemed to be much more of a relaxed and laid back atmosphere in Bo and working with the children we felt this too. A highlight for us was splitting everyone into smaller groups one day when waiting for lunch with a Free For All leader working with each one. As each group started to sing songs and dance, it led to an impromptu celebration as one of the students lept to the drum kit and started to play. We must have danced and sang as a group of around 150 for about 30 minutes. We performed to an audience on Saturday and the children were great. It was possibly one of the best performances we have done. On Sunday we attended the Cathedral and expressed our thanks for a great few days. Bishop S Gbonda was delighted to get a Free For All T shirt and we presented all the T-shirts we had left to the Cathedral.

On Monday we took a last trip to the market for gifts and memorabilia and then all spent the rest of the  day on Lakka beach. It was desert-island-like and a great way to say goodbye to this special country. These 11 days have been a special time for us all and we have all made our own individual connections. Perhaps for Zoe (our singer) it has been the most special. She had knowledge of her Grandfather living in Freetown but had never met him or that side of her family. Although he had passed away, the tight knit community were able to lead her to other siblings who turned out to be her aunties. As we say goodbye we have all been touched by this place and has been the perfect finale for the Free For All tour. Check out all our photos in the gallery and I will put a link to the video highlights of our trip in due course. To see photos out and about around Freetown and Bo click here

Freetown Performance and trip to King Jimmy's market

After a good performance in Freetown cathedral on Wednesday with some fantastic individual performances from our Susannah and Mbe the greedy tortoise, Mike, Anita and I decided to have a quick look in the local market. Walking around Freetown in our Free For All tops has sparked a lot of interest and after getting into a conversation with some local traders about the slave trade they asked us if we wanted to see the place where the slaves were chained up and kept before being taken. It was in an area called King Jimmy's market (an old Portuguese market from the 15th century). As we were led through rocks along the coast and muddy paths, through tin-shack homes we realised we were in a slum. People just seemed to be sitting around everywhere and our presence of course attracted a lot of interest.

We were shown into someone's home and a bed was pulled back exposing chains in the wall. We were taken to two tunnels where the slaves were led through to board the ships, now filled with young men taking drugs and lying around. We were taken to what is now a market with very little to sell, which had been used as a holding place for all the slaves with shackles exposed in the walls and with what looked like messages and pictures in them. Although it was a risk and not the safest place to go, we trusted our guides and kept close to them. For all the work we have done this week in Freetown with the children this was a real highlight and a privilege to experience. The next day we were bound for Bo with a stop off at a village called Moyamba on the way to see a school building project. Check out this video made about King Jimmy's Market.

Tuesday in Freetown

Well, i'm here again!  Sat in the internet cafe in the baking heat!  Dave one side of me, Dan the other!

We've done another day of FFA - we decided to do something different today as the same kids were with us.  I did a warm up with the kids - tried to do a mexican wave - but didn't really work!  Then sang some songs.  Got some of the girls out to lead some of their songs which was a nice start.

After that - we split into 9 groups of 10 and each FFA team member had a group to chat with and come up with a drama to show everyone else connected with friendship.

My group were hard work, and the drama was even more hard work.  We got something together, then half the group decided they didn't like it and weren't going to do it!  We were nearly out of time, so went outside to work on something else, but in the end had to do what we had first planned.  It turned out OK - but the process was quite painful!  Other groups had a similar experience!

Anyhow - had fish and chips for lunch, then back in the cathedral to watch some more groups perform, and then to work on a few more scenes for the performance tomorrow.  Apparently, we have the bishop coming to watch along with around 50 kids from each of the schools represented.  That said, anything could happen!  There might not be anyone watching!

It's fun working with the kids - made some friends... they like to call me over, "Mike, Mike!" and when I get there, they don't have anything to say - they just wanted me to go over - so that's nice.  Lots of smiles and they love you shaking hands and just chatting with them.

Some of the team have gone to see some chimps this afternoon - Dan, Dave and I decided to do the market instead.  Great bartering done by all!

So that's it for now...

Mike

The week begins in Freetown

On Sunday we split ourselves four ways and went to the St Georges Cathedral and 3 other local churches. I attended the Holy Trinity church in Kissy road, which had been destroyed in the recent civil war and rebuilt again by the ingenuity of local parishioners raising their own money. I was able to bring greetings from both CMS and Holy Trinity Clapham, while Lisa brought greetings from St Peter's in Derby. We were received very well and prayed for and given a little bunch of flowers. In the afternoon we all met up again to share our experiences. Our service only lasted 2 hours while some at the cathedral were there for over three.... In the afternoon we enjoyed lunch by the beach and then some went in for a quick dip. The beaches here are idyllic, although you cannot expect a quiet sunbathe as the entire selling population of Freetown are quick to gather round if you dare to find a plot on the beach. (Mike and I had the pleasure of finding this out as we were entertained by a glass eater. So many gathered around us that someone actually set up a stall next to us to try and use the situation)

Monday has been our first day of performing Free For All in the Cathedral. We all walked through central Freetown to the Cathedral in our Free For All t shirts. Good publicity! and it attracted lots of inquisitive yells of "Free For All!" One man even challenged me and said "Who is Free? I am not Free!" I chatted to him for a while and it wasn't long before he was again trying to sell me a product. His point was a good one though living a society where he is trapped by an economy which offers little chance of a proper education or a way out.

In the Cathedral we worked with around 100 young people from 4 different schools. Their knowledge of the subject was of a much higher standard than in England and one school shone out especially. I posed the question, Are we Free today? Inspired by the man in the street. One girl from The Annie Walsh Memorial school stood up and said "No!", She went on to explain that women in Sierra Leone are not free because of the abuse by men. She went on that people don't have freedom because they are trapped by their economic situation.  A very astute girl from an astute school. Another girl from this same school is currently in London debating in Parliament about this very topic.

The children engaged in all the workshops really well and they were of course not phased by the singing and dancing and brought their own style to it. We have been set a challenge because unbeknown to us the same schools are coming back each day and it is possible others will join them. Thinking quickly on our feet we decided not to do a performance today but to save it for Wednesday. This means we can explore some of the contemporary themes of freedom tomorrow which seem to be much more relevant to this situation.

I will sign off for now, unfortunately you will have to wait for photo's as I have not been able to get them off my camera.

Freetown

We've arrived!

I'm sat in an internet cafe just down the road from the YMCA where we are staying.  It's very hot and humid, although quite cloudy today.

We flew in yesterday, and took a helecopter from the airport to Freetown.  Everything was dark when we arrived, so it was great to wake up this morning to the hustle and bustle of life in Freetown!

The team are - Anita, Dave, Dan, Willan, Sian, Zoe, Judith, Lisa and myself.  At this moment, some are watching the Bolton v Manchester United game (no surprises who!) While others have gone for a wander around town.

I've just turned around to fnd out what the noise outside is - and it's started to pour down!  Big time!  Better stay here for a while.

The Cathedral here in Freetown is called St Georges.  We visited it early today to check out where we will be working with the school children doing Free For All.  We are due to have around 150 kids each day (Mon-Wed) and to put on a performance of the play at the end of each day.  However, on visiting the Cathedral, we discover that there is no room to do any drama with such a large number of kids, so we're looking into using a hall instead!

We met the Bishop of Freetown at lunch time today - a lovely man who welcomed us informally, and chatted with us before going for a wander down the street.  I guess we all thought it would be much more formal a meeting, but were glad to just chill with the Bishop for a while!

The Diocese have two 4X4 vehicals we are using while we are here in Freetown.  On Friday, we move out to Bo to visit some more rural schools and do some more Free For All workshops.

I'm sure I will think of much more to tell you after I sign off here, and Dave has a lead that will hopefully mean we can put some pictures up here soon.  But for now - thanks for reading, and feel free to leave comments on this post for any of the team members, and I will make sure they see them!

Mike

Free For All in Sierra Leone

Tomorrow, we fly out to Sierra Leone, West Africa.  Below is a rough plan of our stay.

Friday 23rd Nov:
Meet at London Gatwick at 10am
Flight 5W071 Depart London Gatwick 13.15, arrive Freetown at 19.45.
Transfer by helicopter to the YMCA

Saturday 24th Nov:
Acclimatisation day in Freetown.  Seeing something of the town and the sights, markets etc and time with Mark and others to make plans for the project.  Maybe a visit to Bunce Island?

Sunday 25th Nov:
Church service at Freetown Cathedral and meeting relevant people there.  Project preparation.

Mon 26th - Wed 28th Nov:
Free for All project at Freetown Cathedral

Thurs 29th Nov:
Travel by 4x4 vehicles to Bo (second largest town/city, about 7 hours away from Freetown)

Fri 30th Nov - Sat 1st Dec:
Free for All project in Bo

Sun 2nd Dec:
Church service in Bo; travel back to Freetown afterwards

Mon 3rd Dec:
Free day in Freetown; visit beaches, islands (Banana Islands?) etc
Eve transfer to airport
Flight 5W072 Depart Freetown 23.00, arrive London Gatwick 05.45 on Tues 4th Dec

We hope to keep you up to date through this blog, but this is dependent on internet access.  Thanks for your interest - and check back here again soon.

Free For All in Bradford

We're nearing the end of our tour, and we find ourselves in Bradford!  The schools involved in this week were St Luke's, Cavendish and Fagley Primary School.  All the children did exceptionally well in preparing for the performance on Thursday 16th November.

Although we have done this show around 30+ times now, our director Dan Pollendine of the Big Intent Theatre Company still likes to make small changes to keep us regulars on our toes.  New songs, new lines, and new ways of fitting 100 children at the front of a church!

It was the most cramped we have been on the tour, but director Dan sees all these hurdles as challenges, and simply made use of the isles!  All 100 children laid down to show the middle passage horror which was extra powerful for the audience who were blocked in their seats by bodies laying around them.

If you were involved in the Bradford week in any way - please leave a comment and take a look at all the pictures we took here.

Free For All in Coventry

Two schools joined us in Coventry Cathedral to make this full performance come alive!  It's been several months since the whole cast came together for a full show, and we had to make sure we were on the ball!

The pupils from St John's Primary and Westwood Secondary Schools became people from England, Africa and the Caribbean to unfold the horrific history of the Slave Trade.  Both schools pulled together really well, and produce a great show that challenged and inspired the audience made up from a number of tourists and a handful of proud parents.

More pictures here.

Free For All in Norwich

We had a week of workshops in Norwich, with performances each day.  We saw children from a variety of schools throughout the week, including a group of home educated children on the Tuesday.

We feature the Battle of Trafalgar in our production, and Nelson himself went to school in Norwich
- hence the statue that can be found in the grounds of the cathedral.

A number of daytime audiences enjoyed the performances, and if you would like to see more pictures - please click here.