Lyric inspires young people to take centre stage in their school experiences

REWIND is the Lyric Theatre Hammersmith’s intervention programme, which works in partnership with West London education providers to support young people who are at risk of leaving education. The programme uses theatre-based activities to build character traits that equip young people with the tools to manage complex personal challenges. The Lyric aims to increase their perseverance and raise their aspirations so that they can begin to re-engage with education and take responsibility for their own learning.

How do we work together?

The Lyric has been running REWIND in partnership with West London Zone since Spring 2023, which has enabled them to reach schools that, as a theatre, they would not have previously been able to access. As our Link Workers have built relationships with the schools and young people, the Lyric is able to run 10-week REWIND programmes smoothly whilst always having a contact who joins up every aspect of the child’s support. Through our partnership, the Lyric is able to focus on each young person’s specific needs and adapt accordingly based on what has happened during the week.

“Anna (a young person on the WLZ programme) benefited greatly from the weekly support where she could try out different theatre-based activities that focused on building empowering character traits – providing her with the right tools to tackle the complex challenges she and other young people on the programme face.” Link Worker

What is so important about their work

The REWIND programme focuses on the individual and inspires young people to think of alternative ways to manage their emotions. For the young people that the Lyric works with, there are often breakdowns in student and teacher relationships, so in seeing their students lead a workshop or perform a play, teachers are able to see their pupils in a positive light. REWIND creates a space that supports young people to ‘play’ and process their day-to-day school life challenges, helping them to build positive relationships with their teachers.

“At the start of the programme, you work hard to engage and build a relationship, and within a few short weeks, the young people are actively participating and becoming more open and receptive to the work.” REWIND facilitator

Plans for the future

The Lyric are hopeful that they will be able to continue to run a number of REWIND programmes in the future, championing young people who may need extra support and exposing them to a creative way of thinking that will benefit their future.