YOT Project

This project affirms and enhances the existing work of current Youth Offending Teams (YOT's) by a series of Interactive Theatre Workshops that address a range of issues relating to the client group's lives and offending behaviour. This Interactive Theatre Program lasts for a period of four/five weeks and has been running in partnership with Wandsworth & Southwark YOT.

The client group is aged between 14 and 17 and on either an Action Plan Order or Supervision Order & all participants will have already completed the ten-week Motivation and Enhanced Cognitive Skills Program.

A trilogy of short Forum Theatre pieces called, "Rush, Clap, Jack" provide the basis for extended group work over the five-week period. Essentially, Forum is a theatrical game of which problems are the focus. The aim of the technique is to stimulate a debate in the form of action, not just words and to show alternatives. Scenes of dilemma, choice, decision, offending and conflict can be acted and re-enacted. The group will be invited to offer alternative solutions for the characters either for the actors to demonstrate or by replacing the actors themselves and trying out their own suggestions within the theatre model.

Through a detailed research process the content of the theatre presentations will have a local relevance and authenticity. Key members of the YOT staff, appropriate members of the community and a number of YOT clients who volunteer, have been invited to contribute to the research process.