Rewriting Rural Racism CPD

These two sessions, recorded in summer 2021, showcase the ‘Rewriting Rural Racism’ project, led by Sheringham Little Theatre. Session one presents an overview of the project, including performances and showcases of the creative outputs of the project. Session two is a panel discussion in response to the first session. Both sessions contain practical ideas for creative anti-racist practice in schools, youth settings and community groups, as well as performance extracts and discussions that can be shared directly with young people to prompt conversation around racism and difference in Norfolk and across East Anglia. The sessions are also useful one-off CPDL for individual teachers and youth group leaders looking for an introduction to anti-racist practice in their work.  Session one contains very strong discriminatory language.

Session one:

Timestamps: 

Up to 8:20 – Welcome and intro to the project with Katie Thompson, Tonia Mihill and Ashton Owen 

8:20 – 13:15 – Ashton and Tonia talk in conversation about the workshops in schools 

13:15 – 23:30 – Ashton shares performance extracts from ‘Outskirts’, his one man show. *Strong discriminatory language*.  Ashton explains the show, talks about its reception and discusses the process with audiences.  

24:00 – 31:00 – An animated history of migration in Norfolk. 

31:50 – 35:10 – Piers the poet shares his experiences of rural racism 

35:55 – 37:50 – An interview with Joan Pon Lapoza about his experiences in Great Yarmouth 

37:50 – 39:15 – Summary of the project film series 

39:15 – 42:05 – Emily Jupp performs ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ in her shop in Tomblands, Norwich 

42:05 – 46:40 – Are things changing and how will this work continue? 

46:40 – 56:00 – Q&A and finish

Session two:

Timestamps: 

Up to 8:15 – Introduction to the session and speakers: Tonia Mihill, Piers the Poet, Emily Thompson, Sascha Goslin and Ryan Pickering.   

8:15 – 33:20 – Theme 1: Context and Challenges. The panel discuss racism after the Euro 2020 football tournament, people getting ‘cause fatigue’, dealing with people who question whether racism exists in Britain, the lack of diversity in Norfolk, how to encourage young people to ask questions and share opinions in an open and safe way.  

35:00 – 45:00 – Theme 2: Who Inspires You? The panel discuss the people who’ve inspired them at different times in their lives. 

45:40 – 1:12:00 – Theme 3: Practice – What is effective anti-racism practice? The panel talk about creating safe spaces and modelling democratic behaviour. Young people from minority backgrounds need to ‘see it to be it’.   

1:12:00 – 1:19:00 – Thanks and close. 

Session credits: 

Sheringham Little Theatre, Kick the Dust, St George’s, The Garage, East Coast College, BBC Radio Norfolk, Historic England, Arts Council England, Festival Bridge