New Vic and JCB Community Partnership Takes Centre Stage

The curtain has risen on a new programme introducing young children across Staffordshire to theatre and the joy of reading – thanks to support from JCB.

The Staffordshire-based digger giant has pledged £30,000 to the New Vic theatre’s three-year Tale Blazers storytelling programme along with a series of school and community theatre workshops.

The free programme of events will take place in libraries and local community venues across the region as well as at the New Vic’s Newcastle-under-Lyme theatre.

The programme is part of the prestigious theatre-in-the-round’s 40th anniversary celebrations and marks JCB’s 80th anniversary support of the National Year of Reading and Queen’s Reading Room projects.

Launching this week to an audience of children and parents at Leek Library in the Staffordshire Moorlands, the inaugural Tale Blazer was called Rats’ Tales – a new take on the classic Grimms’ fairy tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin.

Directed by New Vic Staff Director Polly Wain and led by professional actors: father and daughter duo Howard Chadwick and Isobel Chadwick, Rats’ Tales guided young children and their families through a theatrical, inventive and interactive storytelling experience.

A JCB spokesman said: “We are delighted to support The New Vic in bringing theatre and storytelling to life for families in our local community.  This project has the potential to raise the aspirations of children who might never have had the pleasure of seeing professional live performances. Such experiences can spark a lifelong interest in theatre and have a profound effect on a child’s education.”

Tale Blazers is a wonderful opportunity to bring the joy of storytelling directly into communities across Staffordshire. We know how powerful stories can be in helping children to build confidence, develop their imaginations and express themselves and we’re delighted to be able to offer these free sessions to local families. We’re incredibly grateful to JCB for their support, which is making it possible for us to reach even more children and families across the next three years