A friendship and anti-bullying play with workshops in primary schools

Suitable for Years 5 – 6

Watch the Trailer

Cast & Creatives

“It was excellent.  Very thought-provoking, moving and powerful.  Thank you!” 

H.L.T.A

Deneholm Primary

“The strong messages around friendship and bullying really made the children stop and think.  I am sure we will have braver children from this point!”  

Teacher

Kenningtons Primary Academy

“You totally engaged our children and left them captivated. Many were moved by the experience and clearly gained so much from the production.”

Assistant Headteacher

Purfleet Primary Academy

“Excellent music!! The structure of the play was engaging and although there was no speaking there was opportunity for verbal discussion at the end. Very talented actors with real emotion-even got me teary! The pupils really understood the themes and I feel that this play will empower them to handle these situations in real life!”

PSHE Lead & Teacher

Ark Franklin Primary

The Play

Ideally suited for Years 5 – 6

Mark and the Marked uses vibrant physical and visual performance techniques to draw the children in the audience into the heart of a typical bullying scenario. The play is without words and looks at how bullying can happen in the midst of their school community, often without people even realising it. By witnessing and getting involved in a story of how destructive bullying and hate can be, children are invited to be at the forefront of the resolution process and in the advocacy of positive friendship over conflict.

Follow up Workshops

The carefully structured workshop discussions following the play allow the audience to work out what went wrong and why and, ultimately, to make their own happy ending to the play. In the follow-up workshops, we encourage the children to study each character’s emotional journey through the play and also provide them with the opportunity to script lines that will resolve the situation.

In support of the project, we have developed a ‘well-being’ toolkit, available for teachers. The kit comprises exercises and activities designed to aid the well-being of students and respond to any particular situations at school where students need support.