2:24pm Monday 29th June 2009
By Will Gore
The inaugural International Youth Arts Festival (IYAF) kicks off in Kingston on July 3 and the festival’s showpiece production is Pendragon, at the Rose Theatre.
The show won a Fringe First at the Edinburgh Festival when it was performed there by the National Youth Music Theatre (NYMT) in 1995 – and this new production promises to be every bit as spectacular.
Pendragon recounts the legend of King Arthur and features giant puppets, masks, music and shadow play that will bring this epic story to life.
The 40-strong cast ranges from local school children through to Kingston University undergraduates and postgraduates up to the age of 26.
Frank Whately, head of performance studies at the university, co-wrote and directed the original production of Pendragon for the NYMT and says it is the perfect show in which young performers can showcase their talents.
“Young people helped create it originally and so young people really love doing it,” he says. “We have found a really marvellous company to put it on.
“It requires a broad range of ability and that is good because it is what is requ-ired of young people in the performing arts these days.”
The NYMT production of Pendragon was the launch-pad for a number of actors who have since made a name for themselves , including Holby City star Tom Chambers and Sally Hawkins, who picked up a Golden Globe last year for her perfomance in Mike Leigh film Happy-Go-Lucky. And Whately is hopeful some of the class of 2009 will follow suit.
He adds: “What is evident with our company is they will be unknowns when they perform in this production but I’d put money on several of them being stars of the future.”
Whately was one of the driving forces behind the setting up of the IYAF and the opening of the Rose and he is delighted to be bringing Pendragon to the theatre.
“We dreamed up the idea for a festival about 15 years ago and wanted it to be part of the artistic policy of the theatre,” he explains “We always wanted to have young people intimately involved in the Rose, as audience members and also involved in the educational, life-enhancing experience of performing.
“The show will look fantastic. For young people to get onto that stage will be a great experience as it is one of the best theatres around.”
Pendragon, Rose Theatre, 24-26 High Street, Kingston, July 8, 10 and 12, see rosetheatrekingston. org or call 0871 230 1552 or visit iyafestival.org
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