Treehouse Theatre
Interactive theatre and drama for the history curriculum,
plus story telling, pantomime, festival fun and more...
The Yak Pack Theatre Project
A small charity which takes live theatre and workshops to children in the Himalayas
UPDATE:
After delays caused by Covid-19, we finally made it to Spiti in the summer of 2022! The project went really well - please check out our blog and website
In the summer of 2021, The Yak Pack Theatre Project will travel to The Spiti Valley,
high in the Indian Himalayas, to share the joys and benefits of books and story-telling,
with a side order of fighting plastic pollution!
The Spiti Valley is part of a ‘tribal’ region of the Indian Himalayas bordering Tibet, and its remote villages are among the highest inhabited places on earth.
Schools and classrooms are basic in Spiti, and learning by rote is commonplace for the 3000 children living here.
Our own children, by accident of birth, are lucky to have rich and creative opportunities at school in the UK.
The Yak Pack Theatre Project was created to share these opportunities with Spitian children.
Following the success of our visit in 2018, we will be sharing the joy and drama of story telling by bringing a book to life as a performance: "Rubbish Heap Rising" is a window into the mind of a reader.
We will take the show (and books) to schools, libraries and remote rural villages throughout Spiti. We're looking forward to supporting the work of charity ‘Lets Open a Book' by providing story-telling workshops for teachers.
At the request of local people, our performance will explore the issue of plastic pollution, as well as celebrating the value of community and friendship. We will combine the performances with litter picks, and host craft workshops with local children to turn found materials into props for the shows.
During the summer of 2018, The Yak Pack Theatre Project brought Theatre-in-Education - and its well documented benefits - to 1850 schoolchildren, families and the special needs community
living in the isolated Spiti Valley, performing to 1 in 10 of the population..
How did it go? Read our newsletter here >
"the benefits of education in theatre arts are clear...emphasis on creativitity, critical thinking and collaborative skills especially apply to all fields in the 21st century workforce" The American Alliance for Theatre and Education (AATE)
Documentary coming soon!
There will be a free public viewing - watch this space for details
“Culture and the arts are essential components of a comprehensive education leading to the full development of the individual. Therefore, Arts Education is a universal human right, for all learners”
UNESCO: 'The Road Map of Arts Education' (2006)