News
TRH meet young people performing in the finale of TheatreQuest, run by The Prince's Foundation for Children and the Arts
28th January 2008
The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall today watched 50 children perform as part of a national programme founded by one of His Royal Highness’s charities to help young people experience the “magical world” of theatre.
Their Royal Highnesses visited the Unicorn Theatre, South London, to watch children taking part in TheatreQuest, a programme run by The Prince’s Foundation for the Children and The Arts, which The Prince founded to help more children experience the arts.
TheatreQuest has given 1,300 children around the UK, who would otherwise not have had the opportunity, the chance to engage with their local theatre.
The project began in September last year and since then all of the youngsters involved have seen a performance at their local theatre, met the people behind the scenes, worked on set design and costume making and developed their own productions of the play A Singer from the Desert Came, written by award-winning author and playwright Jamila Gavin.
At the children’s theatre, of which The Duchess of Cornwall is Patron, the 50 children from 13 schools around the country put on a fashion parade and acted in plays about environmental issues.
They performed excerpts from the play by Jamila Gavin, who was there to watch the children perform her work.
It is set in the future when the planet has been destroyed by our current way of life and contains strong environmental and social themes.
The Prince later spoke to the children and their teachers, congratulating them on their performances and explaining why he believed the programme was important.
His Royal Highness said: "Hopefully this little play will remind us of the importance of not making a complete mess of our planet."
"It seemed to me it was so important for as many children as possible to have experience of our cultural and artistic heritage.
"The arts are a magical world which help us to be defined as genuinely human and above all, civilised."
He joked with the children and said: "You can see I do have my uses, to allow you to get away from your lessons."
Earlier in the visit, Their Royal Highnesses had watched a short film in which pupils explained how involvement in the programme had increased their confidence in communication skills.
One of the pupils, Verika Kanambay, 13, from Kingsford Community School in East London, said The Duchess asked her whether she would be taking drama to GCSE level, adding it was a good choice.
"She told us she really enjoyed watching us and she really liked the music. She congratulated us on our rhythm," she said.
Actress Penelope Keith, who is an ambassador for The Prince’s Foundation for Children and the Arts, was also among the audience.
She said afterwards: "I'm old enough to remember when all children did plays at school. But I believe the curriculum is so jam-packed now there's no time.
"You have to remember not all children want to be academic. This gives them a look into another world. It opens their mind, maybe more than books do.
"They all said they have more confidence, and I hope it gives them an awareness that people will look and listen to them."
Click here to visit The Prince's Foundation for Children and The Arts website.