Associated educational offerings for ground-breaking new theatre production Top Gs Like Me
Royal & Derngate’s Creative Engagement team have a wide variety of education offers available associated with the theatre’s forthcoming production Top Gs Like Me, which takes place in February next year.
These opportunities include post-show discussions, a choice of workshops, a podcast, a CPD (Continuous Professional Development) event and a chance for organisations to sign up to Royal & Derngate’s new Education Partnership programme.
Presented as part of Royal & Derngate’s Made in Northampton season Top Gs Like Me is a brand new play by local playwright Samson Hawkins (author of Stratford East’s critically acclaimed Village Idiot) and will be directed by the theatre’s Artistic Director Jesse Jones. The production asks big questions of the online space and how it influences young minds, and will see the Derngate auditorium transformed into a replica skatepark.
At a time when the national conversation turns more and more to how we understand and protect our children online, the theatre is staging the production with an ambition that thousands of young people will see it, with specific initiatives to target the student population.
Through the associated activities on offer, education providers can enable their students to engage in greater depth with the important themes of the play and also to further develop their creative skills.
Tickets for educational institutions are £10 per ticket (with a free teacher’s ticket for every 10 students booked). Several of the schools performances will be followed by post show discussions, including a talk by activist Nathaniel Cole and a Q&A with the director, cast and creative team. There will also be a Beyond the Stage podcast available featuring a conversation with director Jesse Jones and playwright Samson Hawkins.
There will be choice of four workshops, which can be booked as one-offs or a series, and which can be tailored to the needs of individual groups. The workshops include Reframing Masculinity led by Nathaniel Coles, Nailing the Narrative: Writing for GCSE/A-Level Drama Devising with playwright Samson Hawkins, Art is Activism & Painting Politics with artists SUEDE and Dpendz and Online Safety with SWGFL.
There will also be a 2-day event at Royal & Derngate on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 January offering a series of workshops and talks from organisations such as Beyond Equality and activist and Sunday Times bestselling author Laura Bates aimed at providing teachers, youth leaders and parents with the tools to advise and guide students and their children through the common challenges and risks presented by our increasingly digitalised lives.
Additionally, Royal & Derngate has launched a new Education Partnership programme. By becoming an Education Partner, schools and colleges can save money and receive exclusive offers. Benefits also include free workshops, backstage tours and talks.
More information about all these opportunities can be found on the website at www.royalandderngate.co.uk/top-gs-workshops-and-education or by emailing [email protected].
Top Gs Like Me will run from Saturday 21 February to Sat 7 March 2026 and is recommended for ages 14 and over. Details of all dates and times can be found at www.royalandderngate.co.uk/top-gs-like-me. To book tickets for a school or college group, email [email protected] or call Box Office on 01604 624811.
The associated educational programme for Top Gs Like Me is supported by grants from Northampton Town Council and Northampton Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.