Smashed Live was developed by Chris Simes of Collingwood Learning in 2009 after witnessing the health and social impact of underage drinking. Young people’s direct experiences of alcohol informed development of the theatrical and workshop content.

Pilot sessions of Smashed across the UK were welcomed by schools who quickly adopted the programme annually. Evaluation indicated students engaged with the creative, emotionally engaging approach, retaining the learning.

A chance encounter led to Chris travelling to Taiwan to work with educational stakeholders who were keen to replicate Smashed there. At this moment, the Collingwood team realised the universality of Smashed as an educational tool.

Over the next few years, Chris worked internationally with creative NGO’s, sponsors, and government stakeholders to embed Smashed in multiple countries. He harnessed the skills of local practitioners to make Smashed culturally appropriate for every audience.

Smashed Online, facilitator-led interactive film experience swiftly followed to improve accessibility, with in-country film makers working with Chris to re-create the story for the platform in multiple languages and cultural contexts.

Shortly to surpass our goal of educating 10m young people, Collingwood continue our mission to provide preventative alcohol education whilst developing new tools for educators and parents to sustain and embed the Smashed experience.