Newcastle Tour February 2025

In February 2025, Hold the Drama returned to the North East, building on connections made during the previous Sunderland tour: a dynamic five day tour in Newcastle of Stripes and Spark, marking the first time Spark was performed multiple times across a variety of settings, including both primary and secondary schools. A highlight of the week was a public performance of Spark in collaboration with Music Partnership North Newcastle. Over the course of the tour, more than 1,000 audience members experienced Hold the Drama, including students from SEND schools.

Throughout 2024, more and more schools and music hubs requested that Hold the Drama ran some CPD sessions, so that teachers could learn more about the brilliant way that we interact with music and drama and PSHE, teaching children in more hands-on and expressive ways. So in 2025, Hold the Drama launched its new CPD programme. Running 5 sessions in Newcastle, HtD members both trained teachers in a CPD session and then mentored them as they co-led workshops, which involved creative drama exercises, helping the participating children to write their own music, using instruments to express emotions, and leaving the teachers with a legacy of resources so they can continue to create work inspired by Hold the Drama. 

Sunderland Tour September-October 2024

From 30th September – 4th October 2024, Hold the Drama visited Sunderland in partnership with Sunderland Music Hub. We performed ‘Stripes’ across the city totalling 10 sessions to a wide range of audiences, including participants from SEND and SEMH settings, as well as music hub groups. This tour was largely supported by Public Health Sunderland, which gave us the impetus to extend and deepen the social cohesion and mental health elements of the work. Sunderland Music Hub are partnered with libraries and other public spaces across the city, allowing for performances in a variety of venues other than schools.

Luton 2024

In January 2024, Hold the Drama did a full week of shows touring schools and performance spaces in Luton, hosted by Kerry Watson from Luton Music Service. Over 1700 people watched Stripes and engaged in post-show discussions, including participants from SEND settings, key stages 2-4, PRU settings and multi-generational audiences. Below are some of the immediate reactions and thoughts we gathered from our audiences during the post-show Q&A

Isle of Wight 2024

In June 2024, Hold the Drama visited the Isle of Wight  in partnership with Southampton Music Hub, performing ‘Stripes’ across the island a total of 11 times, in school settings and 1 public performance. The show initiated conversations between audience members and performers around the topics of the show, including isolation, bullying, communication, mindsets and working with others, and the music hub helped choose schools who they felt would benefit the most from discussing these themes. This tour included a public performance at the end of the week with the idea that students could then invite their families and adults to attend. 

Sheffield 2023

Throughout May 2023, HtD toured schools and performance spaces in Sheffield. We performed Stripes to more than 1300 children across mainstream, special educational needs (SEND) and social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) settings, and put on a public performance of Spark. This included our biggest performance EVER, with an audience at Victoria Hall of over 400 school children.

RAD

Hold The Drama as part of HTD Plus enjoyed a creative collaboration with The Royal Academy of Music and Netley Primary School to compose The Royal Academy of Detectives (RAD). Inspired by HTD’s Stripes, students from Netley Primary School worked with members of Hold the Drama and RAM to write, produce and stage a full scale musical, that culminated in a whole school sharing in RAM’s Susie Sainsbury Theatre. The story followed three groups of students from the prestigious Royal Academy of Detectives on a journey of discovery about the world around them and how to treat and respect others.

If you’re interested in working on a project like this with Hold the Drama, get in touch here

Ibstock Place – Anti-Bullying Week Workshops

In November 2023, members of Hold the Drama visited Ibstock Place school for a full day of workshops across key stage 2. The day started with a viewing of Digital Stripes, discussing the characters feelings, thoughts and emotions. Then, in the workshops, each class explored how to express emotions through music and drama, creating their own scenes and tableaus, directing performers actions and even writing their own raps about kindness and tolerance.