Mum, Can You Lend Me Twenty Quid?

Aim

To bring the play "Mum, Can You Lend Me Twenty Quid", based on a book by Elizabeth Burton-Phillips, to Portsmouth to highlight the dangers of how a loved one's drug misuse impacts on family life.

To show the play to Years 10 and 11 at local schools in Portsmouth to educate young people on the dangers of drug misuse that informs and educates by interacting with the actors afterwards in the form of workshops.

Outcomes

The educational emphasis of these workshops was to inform but also act as a deterrent.  The workshops highlighted the consequences of bad choices (and assisting good choices) by showing the devastating outcomes of abuse on self, family and friends.

A second running of the play was open to parents and interested others in the evening to give the educational message impact.  The approach was bolstered by representatives from the Police and Rebound discussing the impact of drug misuse and families' experiences, and offering details on who to speak to if problems of substance misuse were emerging or have taken hold.

Conclusion

Castle View Academy, who hosted the two performances of the play, is in a deprived area of Portsmouth.  Their catchment area contains many young people living with difficult family situations, making them vulnerable and open to exploitation from the dangers of drug dealing  & addiction.

Educating young people to the dangers of experimenting with drugs, particularly through performance and a true story is, we believe, key to prevention.  This, along with support and understanding from teaching staff such as those at Castle View Academy, will go a long way to helping young people to make positive choices in their lives.

Rebound hopes to bring this production back to Portsmouth at some time in the future to show to other schools or groups e.g. prisons and probation services, provided we can secure additional funding.

A questionnaire circulated to school students after the performance has now been analysed, and this feedback has been published on our blog.  It makes interesting reading, and it looks like the play has had a significant impact on the students, and made them think about the impact of drugs.  We hope to be able to stage the play again in the not too distant future.