A fun-packed Autumn term kicked off with a visit to the Octagon Theatre in Bolton and ended with a jolly Christmas party and a chance see the Dukes’ musical adaptation of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

Our visit to the Octagon Theatre in September to see Arthur Miller’s A View From The Bridge was a great success and a good day out enjoyed by all. The visit was followed by some stimulating discussion during our next Thursday meetings. Everyone agreed the performances were excellent, and indeed, a few tears were shed by members of our group, especially during the very moving final scene!

Following our discussion, Sally (Prime Time Facilitator) gave us short extracts from the play to look at in detail. This was a great opportunity for us to to think about different ways the actors would tackle the scenes depending on their character’s motivation, or what they hope to gain from a particular exchange, and it was fascinating!

During the following sessions we were encouraged to think about what we’d like to do for our sharing event in March. Sally presented us with a variety of ideas and options, and we had the chance to try our hand at acting, directing, and even filming.

We were helped by a very informative session with Kriss Foster who talked us through the art of filming and editing short scenes using an iPad. I think this was eye-opening for most of us and we thoroughly enjoyed filming ourselves in small groups. It was amazing to watch the edited results the following week.

We continued to develop our ideas during the sessions leading up to Christmas and by the end of term we’d all pretty much decided on what our contribution to the sharing event would be.

The term ended with a Christmas party with food and games enjoyed by all, where we were joined by members of the Young Company. We then went along to the Rake to enjoy the show, joined there by participants from the Young Carers Project

Everyone agreed that the Dukes production of A Christmas Carol was hugely entertaining; the cast, staging and musical numbers were all excellent, and a special mention must go to the little boy who played Tiny Tim. What a fabulous ending to our Autumn Prime Time sessions.

I, for one, am looking forward to the new term and meeting up again with my lovely Prime Time ‘family’. Thank-you Sally, Charlie (Older Peoples Coordinator) and all involved at the Dukes for giving us this wonderful opportunity to have FUN and make new friends.

Gill Wistowsky

Current Prime Time Member