A TRAVELLING theatre production is stepping into Tameside classrooms with a blunt message for young audiences: words and actions have consequences.
Timed to coincide with Hate Crime Awareness Week and LGBTQ History Month, OutLoud is using drama to open up conversations many schools find difficult to start – from homophobia and transphobia to cyberbullying and discrimination.
Funded by Tameside Council’s Community Safety Partnership and delivered by arts organisation Hive North, the programme is aimed at Key Stage 3 pupils. But this is not a typical school play.
Each visit combines a 30-minute performance with a follow-up workshop, where trained actor-educators break the fourth wall and invite students to talk, question and reflect.
The script draws on lived experiences, local voices and current issues affecting young people, and has been shaped with input from Tameside Youth Service and LGBTQ+ youth groups. That local influence means scenarios feel close to home and harder to ignore.
Sessions tackle subjects many pupils are already encountering online and offline: discriminatory language, digital safety, hate crime awareness and how to report it, as well as LGBTQ+ identity and allyship. The aim is to challenge attitudes early, before they become ingrained.
While the tone is serious, the format is designed to be accessible rather than preachy. Theatre, organisers say, allows young people to see the emotional impact of bullying and hate crime play out in front of them, rather than just hearing about it in an assembly.
The project also has a safeguarding focus, particularly for LGBTQ+ young people who statistically face higher levels of bullying and harassment. By framing discussions around empathy and accountability, the workshops encourage pupils to look out for one another.
Tameside Council’s Executive Member for Community Safety has welcomed the initiative.
“It is great that such a powerful interactive workshop will be reaching students in Tameside,” said Councillor Stephen Homer, who represents the Mossley ward.
“The team covers such important and relevant topics and guides the students to understand the impact of hate crime and the importance of respect and inclusion. Reaching young people at this pivotal age plays a vital role in shaping a more welcoming and safer community.”