This summer, Matt Hawksworth (CFT's Head of Children & Young People's Programme) and Jody Robinson (Musical Director) led a three week intensive workshop taking inspiration from Spring Awakening. This ground-breaking play by Frank Wedekind and smash-hit Broadway musical about the trials and tribulations of growing up was the source material for our participants aged 16-25.

The workshop was a great opportunity for anyone interested in exploring the world of musical theatre or thinking of auditioning for drama school. Working closely as an ensemble, the team learnt unforgettable songs, fast-paced choreography and devised a world based on this seminal story.

Originally set in late nineteenth century Germany, a group of students navigate teenage self-discovery and coming of age anxiety in a powerful celebration of youth and rebellion. We set our world in 1998. A new Labour government was in it's infancy with 'education, education, education' a key promise. Section 28 is still in force, war rages in the Balkans and across Africa. This period of flux and uncertainty is the backdrop for our characters, where young people haven't been told the truth, sexuality is terrifying and the teenage bedroom is the 'the original place of self-invention'. The music of the era had it all.

Listen to this cracking playlist of tunes from '98, (or search 'chichesterft' on Spotify). How many do you know?

Take a look at the photos below from the sharing. Photography by Dan Hill.