Dronfield Heritage Trust is delighted to offer a unique opportunity to students of Henry Fanshawe School to create a theatre piece based around the Poor Old Horse tradition.
DHT began a partnership with First Art earlier this year, with the aim being to bring the Poor Old Horse tradition up to date for future generations to enjoy.
The Henry Fanshawe students will work with two artists, Rob Thomson and Eion Bentick. Rob works for the BBC World Service as a script writer and Eion has a PhD in folklore and is a keen actor. They have both worked on previous productions to critical acclaim including the recent ‘Fearnot Wood’. They will also work with filmmaker Jessica Palmarozza who worked on the MyLife film project. http://www2.mylifefilms.org/
So far, the students have begun working with elderly residents at Stonelow Court to research the tradition and understand different versions of the song. They have also accessed the Trust’s archives to learn more about how the tradition used to be performed.
Three workshops will develop their skills in character and story development, script development, acting technique and production, and the project will culminate in three performances. These will take place on September 3rd, September 10th at the Bolsover and Mansfield Arts Festivals, and then at the Dronfield Hall Barn Winter Festival on December 2nd.
