City of One (Mike Akers)
Tobacco Factory Theatre, Bristol
Wednesday 5 to Saturday 15 September 2007
Me? No – I'm not in care. I own the City
Specially commissioned by the company to coincide with the Governments' release of the White Paper, Care Matters: Time for Change, City of One by Mike Akers, with original music by Benji Bower, was directed by Heather Williams and David Straun and choreographed by Michelle Gaskell. The play was performed by an adult professional cast and an inclusive company of thirty young people, many of whom had experience of the care system.
Liam is a teenager whose foster carer has been taken ill and is temporarily placed with new foster parents, Janet and David. We see the story of his placement, the history of the breakdown of his natural family and the crisis point as a planned meeting with his father fails to happen. The ensemble of young actors provides us with a vision of Liam’s internal world, his “city of one”. The piece portrays a system struggling to cope with the size, stresses and traumas of the problems, but ultimately, through the commitment of individuals to do their best in difficult circumstances, delivers an irrepressible glimmer of optimism.
Myrtle continues to raise the bar for work produced by young casts and cements its reputation for making ground-breaking theatre which moves and affects its audience.
(Venue, Bristol and Bath, 14-23 September)
It is rare that a piece of theatre moves, amuses and challenges in equal measure. Myrtle Theatre’s ‘City of One’ manages all three in a seemingly effortless blend of stark realism, modern myth and musical theatre… This is a really important piece of theatre that should be seen by everyone who has an interest in the lives of our young people.
(Independent reviewer – 10 September 2007)
Following the production run in Bristol, one young cast member, in care for most of her life, was determined that City of One's graphic portrayal of what it feels like to be in care should be seen by people with the power to improve children’s lives.
She successfully applied for a grant from the Youth Opportunity Fund, which along with additional support from Government Office for the South West, National Children’s Bureau, Bristol Children and Young People's Services and Arts Council England, enabled the company to take the play to Westminster, where it was performed for an audience of MPs, ministers, senior civil servants and key individuals from the creative industries at The Abbey Centre in February 2008.
I was incredibly moved ..... to see this production..., When I first saw this play in Bristol I jotted down every issue and ran out after forty or fifty of them. Every one of the points of the story is real and it is repeated across the country..., This shows what can be done when children and young people are respected, not demonised...when they are respected and when a small number of people will work with them.
Sir Al Aynsley-Green, Children’s Commissioner for England
Extracts of the production have been performed at a number of high-profile events and conferences focusing on the implementation of Care Matters.
