Praise for Tales from Handbridge

“The best musical event I have seen in 20 years of teaching in a primary school”

That was the reaction of one teacher who saw the ‘Tales from Handbridge’ performance on Friday 5 November.

The show was a collaboration between children from Overleigh St Mary’s School in Chester with Camerata musicians and a dramatist, and created in association the Chester Literature Festival. A story telling event in a local pub was the inspiration for scintillating music and drama created by the school children, retelling the history of Handbridge from the Romans to the present day, including murderous events in Greenway St., and watched by children from the whole school, parents, and the original story tellers themselves. The group created songs and plays which recreated the Handbridge Yarns.

The Chester Chronicle reported the event, and interviewed Head of music Beverley Atherton who said: “The children had a whale of a time.  We have worked with Manchester Camerata before and it is always enjoyable. Pupils were able to work with each other to compose their own songs and put a whole piece together.”

The week-long project ended with two performances for families and members of the local community, including some of the people who were involved in the Handbridge Yarns project.

Nick Ponsillo, Head of Learning and Participation for Manchester Camerata, said pupils benefit in many ways from working with music.

“As well as a sense of achievement, pupils also enjoy social benefits such as learning to work in a team,”

Read The Chester Chronicle’s report of this exciting event

Find out more about Manchester Camerata’s Learning and Participation projects