A thought-provoking play that takes the audience on a night out with two 14-year-old girls and a pair of 16-year-old lads was staged in a South Derbyshire park last night (July 23) as part of the Safer South Derbyshire Partnership’s work to raise awareness among young people about issues related to drinking alcohol.

Called Tight, the play – by Chesterfield-based Brief Candle Theatre Company - tells the story of one night in the lives of four young people. It’s a night packed with fun and games, love and loss and explores the characters’ behaviour and alcohol use, and the potential consequences it has for them.

The action is set in a park – and last night’s performance used the bandstand in Church Gresley’s Maurice Lea Park as its very effective backdrop.

The action stopped at four points during the performance to encourage members of the audience to discuss what was happening, how the characters were behaving and what might happen to them.

And comments made by the young people watching, who were offered places through organisations that provide services to young people such as Youth Services and Connexions, suggest that it did get them thinking about issues surrounding drinking alcohol.

Warren Johnson, 13, said: “I thought it was really good, it got you thinking about things.” A young woman who came from Newhall to watch the play said: “Setting it here makes it very realistic. The play describes a typical night in a park like this and it was much better than I thought it would be. It did show the kinds of situations young people get into.”

As well as the performance, young people visiting Maurice Lea Park were treated to non-alcoholic cocktails made and served by Safer South Derbyshire Partnership team members, had a chance to try fruit taken along by South Derbyshire District Council’s Healthy Lifestyle Officer and joined in activities provided by the district’s Sportsmobile staff.

Commenting on the evening, Partnership Safer Neighbourhoods Officer Sarah Dagley said: “Everyone involved is very pleased with how it went. Tight kept the attention of the predominantly teenage audience and they joined in the discussions about alcohol and its potential effects.

“It was good that young people who had come to the park just to meet their friends decided to watch and join in too. Many of them stayed on after the performance too to chat with staff from Youth Service, Connexions and the Police and to enjoy some of the other activities provided.”
Brief Candle Theatre Company was commissioned to write and produce Tight by Derbyshire Local Education Authority in partnership with Healthy Schools and has been funded by the Derbyshire Drug and Alcohol Action Team.