STUDLEY is encouraging its young residents to step back in time to explore its history and heritage with a week of creative activities during February half term – culminating in a special performance.
The village is hosting a range of workshops and talks from Monday to Friday, February 21-25 as part of a project called ‘Our Studley Story’.
It will be based around the village’s past to help connect young and old through their experience of living there.
The workshops will be at Studley Sports and Social Club, and will give children a chance to learn about Studley’s history, and inspire them to create a musical performance.
And on the Friday, their production will be performed in public at the club at 6.30pm.
The week will also feature talks by local historians and there will be photography workshops focusing on comparing old photos of people, landmarks, and businesses and capturing what has changed and what has remained the same.
The photos will be exhibited at Studley Sports and Social Club before moving to the Co-op and other village locations.
Finally, a filmmaking workshop from AVInteractive aimed at teenagers looking to learn the basics will be held on Monday February 21. The participants will then help film the workshops held later in the week.
Studley-based theatre company Aunty Jen Productions will be overseeing the activities, with support from Shakespeare’s England.
Our Studley Story has been funded through the Welcome Back Fund, from the European Regional Development Fund money through the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
The programme is managed by Shakespeare’s England on behalf of Stratford District Council.
A ‘Welcome Back’ logo to go with the project has been designed by Andrew Udall from Coughton C of E primary, and reflects the various businesses in the village.
Jen Rigby, artistic director at Aunty Jen Productions, said: “Studley is a village steeped in history, and we still have plenty of people living here who have wonderful memories of what it was like many years ago.
“We wanted to help connect their memories with a new generation and help them understand just how much has changed – and what similarities there are too.”
All the workshops and talks are free, apart from the final performance which is £4 for adults, £2 for children and £10 for a family of four, and includes a free drink and snack.
For tickets for the workshops and performance visit: https://www.trybooking.co.uk/BKYV
The timetable is as follows:
Creative Performance Workshops: Monday February 21 – Friday February 25, 9am-3pm
Final performance: Friday February 25, 6pm
Photography workshop: Monday Feb 21, 1pm-3pm
Song writing workshop: Tuesday Feb 22, 1pm -3pm
‘In Conversation With’ – Tuesday Feb 22, 6.30pm
Fireside History Talk – Wednesday Feb 23, 6.30pm
