PROUDLY SPONSORED BY

Fern Meets Dido - The Musical

We would like your support to raise funds to stage a brand new musical production called ‘Fern Meets Dido - The Musical’ written by Evadne Bygrave, based on the book 'Fern and Kate Meet Dido Elizabeth Belle' by David Gleave.

The musical uses original songs written by Evadne Bygrave and David Gleave and music composed by Michael Fuller. It tells the story of Fern, a schoolgirl of mixed heritage, who feels like she doesn’t belong anywhere. She hates school, she especially doesn’t like history because no one in the history books looks like her.

Then, on a school trip, something magical happens; she goes back in time and meets Dido Elizabeth Belle, the daughter of Maria Belle an enslaved African woman and a British naval officer. The two girls come from different worlds but realize they have much in common. For the first time, Fern sees that there were people in history just like her and highlights how Black and mixed heritage people have shared experiences in England for centuries.

Your money will assist us to deliver a series of Boot camp style theatre workshops over 3 months, leading to 4 performance of the play at The Shoestring Theatre, Croydon in November 2018.

Disadvantaged young people will be drawn from local schools, holiday clubs and youth facilities within Croydon to perform alongside older members of the community, who will act as narrators, in this inter-generational production. Young people will have the opportunity to be involved in performing arts, directing, stage management and marketing, while developing skills in collaboration, critical thinking and self-presentation.

Many young people have little or no social interaction with community members over the age of 60 and may have formed preconceived ideas of them. Furthermore, young people get a very bad press and there is a risk that they will all be ‘tarred with the same brush’ and become demonized in the minds of the older generation.

We believe that our older cast members will act as role models for the young performers, by creating a caring and collaborative relationship between young and old and giving the latter a sense of purpose and reducing the possible risk of isolation and loneliness. By bringing the generations together in a positive environment with a shared goal we hope to provide opportunities to break down barriers and build a stronger community.

We would like to thank you for expressing an interest in our project and we respect your choice to contribute anonymously, if you wish. However, anyone making a contribution will be acknowledged in the show's programme.