Mirror Magazine

Mirror Magazine

Young learners take the stage
The Young Learners Centre of the British Council celebrates its 4th anniversary with two one-act plays ‘Half a Chick’ and ‘Mummy’s Boy’ directed by Odile Melder and assisted by Rashmi Fernando.

Half a Chick, retold by Bill Stockdale from a Spanish folk tale, captures the spirit of a young cast of around 20 members to bring to life the legend in song, dance and drama.

The production builds on the energy and enthusiasm of the children in a sequence of scenes designed to illustrate the importance of doing to others, as you would have them do to you.

Mummy’s Boy is a hilarious story that reveals some unpredictable consequences of family and community interaction. In this play older members of the Centre combine their talent and discipline in acting out scenes from this adaptation of Mummy’s Boy.

The young cast have created the stage and costume designs themselves. Both productions have afforded them a wonderful opportunity to express themselves, harness their talents, and focus their energy into an unique theatrical experience.

Music for the play spans a range of genres, including Indian soundscapes, classical pieces, folk songs from the 1960s, and other well-known songs from The Beatles, songwriter Billy Joel and others. The combined efforts of this diverse and creative cast give life to these comedies and are bound to leave the audience laughing.

Half a Chick and Mummy’s Boy will be performed on Sunday, September 7th at 6.30 p.m. in the British Council main hall. Tickets at Rs. 100/- are available at the Information Desk (Library) of the British Council (open from Tuesday to Saturday 9.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m.).

The Young Learners Centre opened in August 1999 as part of the British Council’s Library in Colombo. The Centre reflects the growing interest in the learning and teaching of English at an early age. It provides a range of material to encourage children to read, write and speak in English and helps to make learning an enjoyable experience.

The Young Learners Centre has a varied selection of books, videos and CD ROMs and conducts activity programmes for members, including story telling, access to computers and the internet, art and craft workshops, theatre groups, writers’ clubs, painting, workshops on music and poetry, quiz competitions and other enjoyable events.

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