I was delighted to arrive in Belfast on Friday to audition actors for our upcoming theatre-in-education tour of Northern Ireland. We had a fantastic day at the Grand Opera House seeing some brilliant actors. I think we are going to be spoilt for choice!

The tour launches in Belfast on the 11th January and tours for two weeks until the 22nd January, visiting 20 schools and reaching over 4,000 young people, helping them understand the dangers of underage drinking. As normal for the project, this will include our live theatre performance, an interactive workshop, and a comprehensive set of teaching materials to ensure that the programme is sustainable in school with video excerpts and schemes of work for effective follow up.

One of our core objectives for any Smashed Project is to make the materials integrate with the curriculum. We are working with key stakeholders in education to ensure that we link the show, workshop and resources to the Learning for Life and Work Curriculum, specifically the Personal Development strand. We also hope to make best use of the revised Drugs Education Guidance.

Having delivered the project in England for so many years, we are thrilled that Diageo Northern Ireland have made funding available to adapt the project for a Northern Ireland audience. We hope that the pilot project will become a blueprint for regular programmes in Northern Ireland which can help young people understand the dangers of underage drinking and to enable them to make informed choices as they grow up.

Come and see the project live in January, and follow the Smashed Project on our Facebook Page!

Chris