Ash Grove Academy to star in Stop, drop and roll

Above: A scene from the 2018 Cheshire Fire and Manchester Camerata production

Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service is using music and drama to help get valuable burns, scalds and first aid advice across to people of all ages.

The Service is working with Manchester Camerata to produce ‘Stop, Drop and Roll’, a music and drama project that will bring together four primary schools from across Cheshire. The production will tackle fire safety issues, by creating a new piece of musical theatre when it’s performed at the Parr Hall in Warrington on Tuesday October 15, and tickets are free.

Key Stage Two pupils (aged 7-11 years) from four Cheshire schools will create a section of the new piece from scratch, each focusing on safety in the home. Each scenario will be explored from their perspective, depicting how people might respond to different emergency situations and showing the ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ ways to act. The audience will also learn what to do in an emergency fire situation and how they can prevent fires starting.

Schools taking part are:
Ash Grove Academy, Macclesfield
Woodside Primary School, Runcorn
St Ann’s Primary School, Warrington
St Clare’s Catholic Primary School, Chester 

The free-to-attend event will explore home safety issues which are relevant to the younger generation, specifically focusing on burn awareness, electrical safety including the use of chargers and styling products, the importance of keeping rooms tidy and the safe use of candles.

The pupils will gain an understanding of first aid and learn about the technique ‘stop, drop and roll’ which is the advice firefighters give to children and young people around what to do if their clothes catch fire. They will also explore the ‘five ways to wellbeing’ messages.

Cheshire’s prevention department, a composer, a theatre maker and musicians from Manchester Camerata have spent time working with young people from the schools (one from Cheshire East, one from Cheshire West and Chester, one from Warrington and one from Halton) to create the new piece from scratch. Cheshire FireChoir will also be performing alongside the pupils.

The team from Manchester Camerata explored the theme with the various classes and wrote the lyrics, melodies and harmonies of new songs with the pupils. The pupils have also written the narrative and created the staging for the performance.

A series of workshops has been held with the children to devise and rehearse the performance which will portray the causes and consequences of a series of scenarios based on real-life stories to highlight the need to be more vigilant and safety conscious.

Assistant Chief Fire Officer Gus O’Rourke said: “This truly unique performance is free for all and will be a great way for us to get some important safety messages across to an audience of all ages.

“The production coincides with Cheshire Burn Awareness Week, a week of action that the Service is running to highlight dangers around burns and scalds, taking place from October 14-19. I would strongly encourage people to come along to learn the lessons for a lifetime.

“The week incorporates National Burn Awareness Day on October 16 so the theme of the production neatly fits with our work during this time.”

Gus added: “The result of all the hard work will be an insightful, thought-provoking and enjoyable music and drama performance in Warrington that I encourage everyone to come and see.”

The free performance starts at 6.30pm. Tickets can be ordered via EventBrite at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/stop-drop-and-roll-performance-produced-by-the-manchester-camerata-tickets-73558829439