John has
written extensively for the professional theatre and young
people’s theatre, and has had two plays,
Key To the
Door and The Astounding Joseph
Darby, produced by BBC Radio 4.
Most of these scripts were commissioned, often with
financial support from the Creative Partnerships programme,
which links artists to schools. Examples are:
Home
- commissioned
by Gazebo Theatre-in-Education Company, this play was aimed
at Year 5 students and celebrated the diversity of
communities living in the West Midlands of the UK. It
toured schools in the region, telling five true stories of
how people from different parts of the world came to make
their homes here. I subsequently went to a number of the
participating schools to lead workshops in
storytelling/storymaking.
Gimme
Some Space - commissioned by the
King’s School, Wolverhampton, and funded by Creative
Partnerships, this production was written with guidance
from school students as a celebration of all the spaces
that exist (or could exist) within the school. Blending
drama, dance and original music, this full-length play was
originally presented at the Arena Theatre, Wolverhampton,
and subsequently at the King’s School and other
Wolverhampton community venues.
Take Your
Place -
commissioned by Mouthpiece Theatre and AimHigher, this play
toured secondary schools in Worcestershire with the aim of
encouraging students to think about the opportunities, and
potential problems, offered by university study.
Doing Our
Bit -
another commission from Gazebo Theatre-In-Education Company
to mark the 50th anniversary of VE Day, this play for
secondary schools celebrated the diverse roles of women
during World War II on the Home Front, in the armed forces
and in popular fiction, exploring their hopes, fears and
aspirations. It was toured throughout the Black Country
area.
Would You
Adam and Eve It - this play, commissioned
by the King’s School, Wolverhampton and funded by Creative
Partnerships, was written following direct input from
students at the school and used drama, dance and original
music to explore, in an often surreal and comic way, the
dilemmas faced by a world that can do almost anything. But
just because we can do something, does that mean we should?
Should your school wish to
commission a script from John Edgar, or produce one of
John’s existing plays, use the contact link below to find
out more.