Youth Led Festival at The National Coal Mining Museum

On the 6^th of July a special thing happened at the National Coal Mining Museum – The “Rock Hard Festival” – a celebration of young people’s artistic response to the miner’s strikes of 1984. Young people played, sang, acted, created visual art all inspired by the events of a year that sealed the fate of such an important industry to Yorkshire and the UK. 

 

YTYT were one of the performers – they performed a brand-new piece that documented the input of the strike on the community, “Have You Heard the News.” The script was created out of the ideas and inspiration of the young people in the cast in response to the National Coal Mining Museum’s exhibition about the 1984 strikes. 

 

Here are some responses of some of the young people who performed:

 

Throughout this performance I learned a lot about how life was back then and how if affected different people

Amelia

 

As a member of the cast, I found that transferring the performance to a smaller space and overcoming the ambient noise around us in the museum was a fun challenge to take on 

Fred

 

I enjoyed seeing another drama company’s performance on how the different children were affected during the strike. It was an imaginative and creative experience to witness.

Fern 

 

Projects like this do not happen without volunteers – in this case a board of brilliant young people who under the excellent support of Suzie Cross produced the festival.  YTYT had their own team of brilliant volunteers to whom I am very grateful – Alfie, Ash, Jacob and John.  Between them they co-wrote the script, co-directed the play, designed and operated sound, sorted props and helped make the performances run smoothly. Here's a little insight into their thoughts and reflections:

 

As a volunteer looking in it was really great to see young people connecting with the text and subject matters so much and portraying it so maturely on stage. Also, as someone who's taken part in a fair number of these mining based performances it really is great seeing the new generation of YTYT taking it in their stride and handling the shows well

Jacob

 

It’s heartwarming to see young people (who superficially ought to be the most removed from the subject) approach their brief with curiosity and compassion. Their sincere connection with the history speaks not only to the continued potency of the topic, but to the involved and thoughtful character of this generation of young people.

John

 

Audiences of the festival and YTYT’s contribution also gave their seal of approval:

 

As part of the audience, we found the performances and displays very thought provoking. Not just looking at cause and effect, but the real impact and experience of people both at the time of the strike and years later.

Helen

 

A compelling performance that compassionately portrayed the reality of the conflicts

Sheila

 

I’ve watched many of the YTYT miner’s performances over the years and they never fail to deliver. Their performances are always done with such compassion and emotion, working hard to show the individual personalities of each and every character. This one I felt showed that more than any of the others, maybe because it was set in a time that I’ve lived in, I could recognise people I once knew in the characters, it showed us how everyone was in the same storm but travelling in different boats, not all equal. The actors showed us how the strike affected each individuals’ lives, how the emotions and opinions ran high amongst all involved, how each individual was impacted by it, how families and friends were torn apart by it, whilst also showing the community spirit of pulling together to support the miners and their families. 

Sam

The festival was a triumph, connecting young people and audiences alike with a part of their community’s history.