From the mouths of babes...

School children in Durham are being given the chance to be creative and have their voices heard as part of a dramatic new production, specially commissioned for next years Durham Mysteries, the contemporary revival of Durham's traditional mystery play cycle.

Working with playwright and director Toby Hulse, 24 Year 4 & 5 children at St Joseph RC Primary School in Durham are writing a new play inspired by the Old Testament story of Abraham and Isaac, to be performed by adult actors but recreated through a child's eyes.

Toby Hulse is a freelance playwright and director who specialises in creating theatre for young people within educational contexts. "This will not be a piece of childrens theatre rather it will be a piece of serious grown up theatre that happens to have been written by children. Knowing that this story will be performed by adults for adults has inspired the children to take all sorts of creative and intellectual risks. "

Central to the story of Abraham and Isaac is the idea of sacrifice God calls upon Abraham to sacrifice his only son to prove his faith. Abraham agrees because he knows it is what he has to do, it is his duty.

"The children were outraged by the events of the story, but also fascinated by the ideas of sacrifice and duty: particularly the sacrifices they feel their parents make for them; the things that their parents have to do; and the way that, at times, they too feel sacrificed so that their parents can do what they have to do. Many of the thoughts that the children are exploring in the play may make us as adults feel uncomfortable," adds Toby.

In the new production Toby uses the addition of an extra character known as The Child, who enters the Old Testament story in modern dress, to reflect the childrens reactions to the events of the story.

Toby said, "The Child will voice the childrens thoughts and feelings, but also attempt to interfere with the course of the story to make it end in a way that the children feel is fair to the young Isaac. The conclusion of this is as unexpected as it is deeply moving. I think many adults will be surprised at the depth of thought that the play reveals, as well as the tremendous understanding of what makes a good story.

"Working with the children, I hoped to capture their reactions to the story, and their perceptions of its relevance to their lives. The words that the actors will speak will be those that the children have written for them, so that the play becomes a mouthpiece for their view of the world.

"The children have led the process entirely. My role is to provide them with the creative techniques that they need to write a script. Beyond my editing and shaping the final piece, the children, the true writers, will be able to watch what is on the stage and say I wrote that. Thats my work. I myself have been writing plays in one form or another since I was this age I only wish Id had an opportunity like this to see my scripts performed by adults in a professional theatre environment."