This week 800 primary school pupils from Llangefni and Caernarfon have enjoyed a comedy theatrical production in celebration of World Book Day in the magical former quarrying village of Nant Gwrtheyrn on the Llŷn Peninsula.
In celebration of World Book Day (01.03.12) Shimli, a bilingual theatre-in-education company bought to life the characters of the The Troublesome Tudors and Sleazy Stuarts, a book in the Wicked Wales series which include North Wales historical figures including Sir John Middleton of Denbighshire who helped clean up the putrid streets of London and the cantancourous character of William Morgan, of Ty Mawr Wybrnant by Penmachno who translated the bible into Welsh.
The interactive production also tells of the lives of other famous Welsh men and women during the reigns of the Tudor and Stuart monarchs and included tips on how to spot a witch and the story of a Beaumaris man who was hanged for his crimes even though he was already dead.
After the performance, the children will enjoy learning about the history and myths of the Nant, and each pupil was given a free copy of the Catrin Stevens book to mark the occasion.
Siwan Llynor, from Anglesey, a co-founder of Shimli, said: “We believe that theatre is the most powerful medium in education. Over the past ten years we have created workshops, and have directed and written shows for children and young people to perform. Our main interest is working with children through drama and music as it brings the written word to life. These events are an excellent way to get them involved, and show them that reading is fun and interesting.”
The events are being organised by the Welsh Books Council with the support of Waterstones, who are contributing the proceeds from the 5p carrier bag levy to support the World Book Day events. Will Williams of Waterstones said: “It’s wonderful to be involved in such an inspiring campaign. We wanted the funds raised from the levy to be put to good use, and it’s great that they will now be helping to bring books to life for thousands of children, as well as helping the environment.”
Delyth Humphreys, Head of the Children’s Books and Reading Promotion Department at the Welsh Books Council, said: “As World Book Day this year falls on 1 March, St David’s Day, we decided to base our flagship events on Welsh history – and what better setting could there be than the unique village of Nant Gwrtheyrn? As well as enjoying an original theatrical performance featuring many characters from Welsh history, the pupils will also take a tour of the village, learning about its history and some of its traditional and wonderful tales. Our aim is to give each pupil a day full of adventure, and to inspire them to seek out other adventure stories in books. The participating schools are already buzzing with excitement, and both pupils and staff are looking forward eagerly to the events.”
Schools taking part in the events are Ysgol y Gelli, Ysgol Santes Helen and Ysgol yr Hendre from Caernarfon, and Ysgol y Talwrn, Ysgol Corn Hir and Ysgol y Graig from Anglesey. These schools have been selected from the designated Reading Communities in Wales – a scheme to promote reading and literacy in some of Wales’s Strategic Regeneration Areas.
World Book Day 2012 takes place on Thursday 1 March with many interesting events, activities and workshops taking place across Wales. To find out more please go to: http://bit.ly/worldbookday.
