The Ash Community Play

The people of the village of Ash in Kent wanted to open a heritage centre to house an archive of historical documents, but they faced daunting fundraising targets.

They decided to stage a community play based on the 1830s Swing Riots in order to raise awareness of Ash’s heritage, but needed help with fundraising, creative ideas and logistics.  Scene Three Creative’s Claudia Leaf helped them apply to Arts Council England and created a plan for an ambitious promenade performance designed to make use of the geography of the village.

Claudia then worked closely with local historians to develop a script.  She also directed the play, which was performed over two days, featuring a large, mixed age community cast, local musicians and a choir. This event drew large crowds, attracted donations for the heritage centre and created fresh interest in local history.

The centre is now used by local schools and the village residents have since formed their own theatre group as a direct result of the community play.

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