Gscene News Archive

"You must be the change you want to see in the world" Mahatma Gandhi

Standing up for what you believe in is not always easy, but a group of young people are reinforcing the message of why it is so important through a new play.

The Mixed Blessings Theatre Group is back at the Fringe Festival this year with another play called Stand Up To Hatred, after the success of their first play, Let Justice Be Done at last year’s festival.

Schoolchildren Jamal and Caitlyn are ordered to tidy up an attic in a Jersey guest house after putting itching powder in another boy’s shoes. While tidying, they find a trunk with belongings of a disabled girl, Sarah, who lived on the island while the Nazis occupied it during the Second World War. Guest house owner Margaret takes them on a journey through Sarah’s life growing up under a Nazi regime that punished people for being disabled, mixed race or Jewish and many were taken to concentration camps.

Through this journey, Jamal and Caitlyn discover that similar issues still occur in present day, and they find the courage to stand up for themselves and tackle the boy who has been bullying them for some time.

The play features powerful messages, with the strongest being to speak out if you are being discriminated against, even if there are risks to doing so, as it only takes one person to make a change.

Play writer and group trustee, Suchi Chatterjee said she wrote the play with the aim to show people that bullying is still happening and people should not suffer in silence. She also wanted to find a way to educate people about the Holocaust, and the play is dedicated to it's victims.

She said:
“I wanted to make history fun and interesting for people to learn about, especially for young people. I remember lectures in school as a child and they never worked for me.”

Both the adult and young actors from the group are clearly talented and portray believable characters that the audience can identify with. There is good use of history and present day, which scarily reveals how we assume society has progressed with time, but we are still facing the same forms of discrimination that were suffered in the previous Century.

The theatre group, whose patron is actor Adrian Lester’s wife, Lolita Chakrabarti, was created by Suchi in 2007, as a way for able-bodied and disabled young people to mix, so ignorance and assumptions about disabilities could be challenged in a positive way, and strong friendships could be made. The group meet weekly at St James House, Kemp Town where they play games and act.

The play is at Brighthelm Community Centre, North Road, Brighton Tonight, 7pm
Free entry and suitable for children over 10 years old.

To find out more about the group view:
www.mixedblessingstheatregroup.co.uk