Welcome to UpFront Theatre Company's Information Page for Funders
2024/25 Programme
About Us
UpFront Theatre Company is an experienced, dynamic educational theatre company; specialising in providing interactive workshops & plays exploring the PSHE Suggested Programme of Study for KS2 to KS5.
Watch the video to find out more about What We Do and How we do it:
Feedback/Impact from Before Anyone Else/In Harm's Way
Watch the video to find out more about what we do and how we do it:
Confirmed funding from Goyal Foundation
Flagship company of Inner Spark - provide workshops, aim to ambitious goal is to empower one
million young individuals over the next five years. Please see photos of UpFront presenting at their Nov23 launch below:
About In Harm's Way
The play follows the friendship of three year 9 students over a 2 year period and explores mental health, coping mechanisms & emotional well-being. Through separate struggles with "self-harm" in various forms including cutting, drugs, alcohol & online relationships; we explore the dangers, consequences and help available for some of these problems.
Following the play, the actors facillitate a 30 minute post-show lecture. We pick through the main issues and identify any questions prompted by the story. We replay key scenes from the play and invite students to impart advice to a character putting herself in risky situations by experimenting with drugs, alcohol and online relationships.
We use forum theatre to explore in further detail a scene between 2 friends - one is struggling with his emotional wellness and feeling sad, but his friend feels uncomfortable and unsure how to help. The students will have the opportunity to suggest actions to help each character & explore the role & level of responsibility of the friend as well as the person struggling.
There is a focus on mental health & self-harm and risky behaviour.
About Before Anyone Else
How do the sessions run?
The play and lecture are performed by 3 professional actors.
We start with a 10 minute introduction, outlining the themes and clarifying the facts and any laws surrounding the topic, and inviting the students to answer questions and get involved.
The Play runs for 50 minutes. It is followed by a 30 minute interactive lecture, where students are encouraged to discuss some of the characters' choices. We replay some of the key scenes and they are invited to offer the character's advice.
What We Cover
We begin with an introduction and clarify some of the fact, figures and myths surrounding sexual health, contraception and LGBTQ+.
The play follows 3 students over Year 9 and 10. It explores relationships, sexuality, and consent. Emily & Tom seem to be a ‘perfect couple,’ but the truth is not so Instagram-ready, as their relationship is rocked with insecurity, jealousy, and sexual pressure, not only from each other but their peers and even themselves. Meanwhile, Erica is trying to navigate her sexuality and how to get the support she needs. Through their stories, we explore friendship, positive vs. negative relationships, LGB experiences and support available, what constitutes consent, taking responsibility for safe sexual health and how to identify and end negative relationships.
Following the play, the actors facilitate a 30-minute post-show lecture. We pick through the main issues and identify any questions prompted by the story. We replay key scenes from the play and invite students to impart advice to a character who has shared an explicit photo of his girlfriend and is putting her under pressure to engage in sexual activity.
We use forum theatre to explore the relationship between the young couple, who both feel under pressure to have sex. The students will have the opportunity to suggest actions to help each character & explore consent.
Finally, they are invited to ask questions to a character who feels comfortable and open in being bisexual.
There is a focus on consent and sexuality.
The play does have some challenging content & is designed for year 9+
Set Up
3 actors in 1 car!
The actors arrive 30 minutes beforehand to sign in and set up, and pack down takes 15 minutes.
Because our products are centred around the strength of our fantastic actors, our set up is extremely simple and undisruptive.
No technical or electrical equipment or projectors required.
Included with the workshop
An accompanying workshop pack containing:
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Teachers further work pack
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Preliminary & Post Show Resources outlining topics covered in the play - see above
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Teachers Evaluation Form
Why is it so important to discuss relationships, consent and sexuality, & Mental Health with young people?
Links to External data included in ACE app:
PSHE Association - Programme of Study
Review of sexual abuse in schools and colleges OFSTED report, in response to Everyone's Invited
2020 Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education
A recent Ofsted report stated 'SRE avoided discussion of sexual and emotional feelings and controversial issues such as sexual abuse, homosexuality and pornography.'
Unfortunately the statistics speak for themselves, and Ofsted’s report following the Everyone’s Invited scandal showed a disturbing normalising of sexual harassment and a lack of understanding on consent.
1/3 of 16-18 year old girls say they have experienced unwanted sexual touching in school, and 71% of women of all ages in the UK have experienced some form of sexual harassment in public places.
A recent Ofsted report showed that 90% of girls and 50% of boys had been sent unwanted explicit pictures or videos.
59% of young women aged 13-21 say they had experienced some form of sexual harassment at school or college in the past year.
Everyone’s Invited testimonies included having an explicit image shared by a classmate, classmates ‘ranking’ other classmates based on physical appearance or in serious cases, sexual assault by a peer.
Before Anyone Else invites students not only to observe and invest in the characters' stories, but to advise - this pro-active approach will encourage them to apply this advice in their own lives.
We all have mental health in the same way we have physical health, but sometimes it is not an easy subject to talk about with young people. And with 1 in 4 people in the UK suffering from a mental health condition in their lifetime, it is something we must talk about.
Statistics show than 1 in 4 adults will suffer from a mental health condition in their lifetime, 1 in 10 young people; and 50% of mental health conditions are established by 14 years old.
A YouGov/MQ and Forster survey in 2016 showed that 51% of young people would be embarrassed to talk about mental health.
Young Minds, PAPYRUS, Childline & NSPCC have all said 'more open and frank conversations should be encouraged with children.
According to The Children's Society's 'Good Childhood Report' - rates of self-harm among children are "worryingly high" with 16% (of more than 11,000 14-year-olds surveyed in the Millenium Cohort Study) reporting that they had self-harmed in the last year.
In Harm's Way invites students not only to observe and invest in the characters' stories, but to advise - this pro-active approach will encourage them to apply this advice in their own lives.
The Contract / Employing Actors
UpFront is mindful of securing a high-quality cast who will commit to 8/6 week schools tour, which includes a 9 week break between Autumn & Spring Tour
UpFront is experienced at casting, working with young actors/new grads, & identifying candidates who are passionate about educational theatre i.e. applied/community theatre grads
We have had interest from previous casts & workshop team
We have run previous tours where the Autumn Cast return for Spring tour
We strive to be a supportive & flexible employer
Contract will include:
14 weeks at Equity Minimum
Bonus paid at completion of full tour
Understudy employed
Cast are free to take work over break, which coincides with Christmas/Panto season
UpFront runs a full workshop rep. throughout the year (2 workshops per week on average), cast will be offered first refusal on any workshop bookings.
Feedback from previous UpFront actors:
"The work UpFront do really is first rate in every sense, from the pre workshop to the actual show and the quality of the performance to the post workshop, the work they take to schools is so educational and conversation-starting. I have first hand proof of this, being one of the actors on their March 2023 Before Anyone Else tour, where we took the show and workshops to around 4000 students in 30 days, and saw that the conversations that the pupils started with us day after day were inspiring and forward-thinking." Inaam Barwani, Before Anyone Else Spr23, UpFront workshop facilitator
"Upfront Theatre are a really great company to work for - they are friendly, passionate and always put the young people at the centre of everything they do. Upfront always educate and entertain in equal measure! " Jack Evans, In Harm's Way Aut19 - 2021, Ongoing UpFront workshop facilitator