Productions

Many of our productions have been critically acclaimed, still more have done great things for the self-confidence and self-esteem of the participants, and all of them, bar none, have fully entertained their audiences! Below is a list of all our productions to date. For more information about any of them, don't hesitate to contact us at the address at the foot of the page.

For more information about the clients with whom we've worked on these productions, please click here.

Why Education? | Different Contrasts | Women Revealing | SWAP | Year 3000 | Les Miserables | Our Story

The Journey | Moments In Time | Mr and Mrs Tragedy | ArtsFest | The Haunting Of Warwick Bar

The New Adventures Showcase | Slave Sale | Caribbean Kitchen | R: Evolve | Mixed Race Matters

Tooled Up | Ghetto Fabulous | Sonic dB | Spaghetti Junkshun
 

'Why Education?'

This production highlights the importance of education in adolescent lives. It aims to encourage a positive attitude towards education founded within a three way relationship (Parents/Pupils/Teacher), and reinforces the need for self-determination to succeed within school and general life.

The play exhibits added humour for maximum impact. It is set within the context of "participatory theatre" where the cast are 'hot seated' and both students and teachers are given the opportunity to exchange views and express thoughts. 'Why Education?' reflects the classroom reality and encourages students to take an active role in their own future success.

The Claughton Centre in Dudley wanted to explore social issues such as racial discrimination, homophobia, peer pressure & relationships. The group developed skills in team work, confidence, & learnt how to dramatise, dance & sing via various activities.

Once it was decided which issues were to be covered, SISTER TREE wrote the script. Oce completed we went on to full rehearsals for the production date. The students ranged from 16-18 and gained experience in acting, dance, & singing, stage management & supporting each other. The play was based on Valentines Day, covering different types of relationships. The cast performed to a full house who totally enjoyed the performance & were overwhelmed with the skills the actors had learnt in such a small time.
 

Women Revealing

Written and Directed by Sharon Jones and Margaret Polack, 'Women Revealing' is an exciting production set in Moorgreen Prison.

Exploring issues that affect us all at sometime in our lives, this exciting new show is frank, funny and a compelling insight into the frustration and ultimate heights of six women as they battle to keep control.

Violence, survival, and intimidation; everyone locked in their own minds, struggling to be recognised in an atmosphere of love and madness. Through a series of flashbacks interspersed with the present, the women struggle with both guilt and desire.

SWAP

Sister Tree co-ordinated the Shared World Youth Arts Presentation Festival. which involved children learning various new art forms that they later perfumed at the Drum, Potters Lane, Newton, and the Birmingham Library Theatre.

Other performers inlvolved included: Jahman Sillah providing African drumming, the Handsworth Play Centre, and Kings Norton Group, 'Three Estates'.

What will life be like in the year 3000? That was the challenge for the City's young people as they worked alongside composer David Dedford to realise their ideas about the next thousand years.

David Bedford had devised a musical journey through space with five 'space landings', during which young performers would present the fruits of a series of summer workshops.

There may be other societies in space at all possible levels of technology and sociological development. Sister Tree led one of the workshops and were asked to create their own version of such societies a thousand years from now through music, dance and drama. The pieces were then performed during the 'space landings' in Odyssey 3000.

Sister Tree were employed by the Hippodrome Educational Department to take several workshops based around the production of 'Les Miserables'. We were invited to view the performance at the Hippodrome then appointed to Joseph Chamberlain college.

The students were full of enthusiasm & committed. During the sessions the participants explored, debated & devised short scenarios based upon the issues within the production. Out of these workshops was born a short performance from all the schools that took part, alongside Sister Tree and other professional artists. The students re-enacted various scenes from the production. The project was explored using singing, music, dance & drama styles & techniques.

'Our Story'

This was a multicultural intregrational project funded by Birmingham City Council. Based on the experiences of old and young citizens from the past, present & future.

Sister Tree wrote and produced this theatrical performance asking and addressing key issues that the elderly in Birmingham have today: How do the elderly see the world today? What are their concerns? What do today's youth think about the elderly?

For more information, visit the Our Story website.

The Journey - Written and produced by Sister Tree, performed by Claughton Junior Dance and Drama Club.

For three months Sister Tree, an educational Theatre and production company based in Birmingham have been extremely busy working with members of the club to produce THE JOURNEY.

This was the first time you will have seen a young drama group consisting of mainly children of African-Caribbean origin from Dudley perform in front of a live audience.

Moments In Time

Throughout Spring and Summer of 1999 The Drum ran a series of 12 week workshops designed to help you acquire new skills, knowledge or build on existing talent.

Sister Tree, as an inspirational, Birmingham based theatre production company, ran the Drama session. They have developed a style which is truly unique and through their workshops, they explore not only drama aspects like body language, facial expression and characters but also music and dance.

After several weeks of intensive rehearsal, students from the Spring into Summer workshops are coming together for this energy packed end of term finale - Moments in Time.

This production was so popular that we had to bring it back twice! It was based on the story of King Henry VIII. However, our Henry was a typical Jamaican man with his trail of wives. It had a series of comedy sketches within it that were guaranteed to make your belly bust. Mr & Mrs Tragedy was the battle of the sexes ... and only one could win!

ArtsFest

Sister Tree loves performing at Artsfest, which is a free arts festival for all. It gives us the opportunity to showcase our latest productions to the masses. This is an annual festival not to be missed.

This was a production commissioned by British Waterways to encourage young people and communities from a minority background to make use of the canals more than they currently do. Written by Verity Walker, June 2003, and performed by Sister Tree.

The New Adventures Showcase was a hugely pleasurable experience which saw us develop artistic expression in a whole new area. In association with Connexions, Sister Tree set out to give young people from disadvantaged backgrounds access to empowering art forms, teaching them self-confidence, self-esteem and new skills they will come back to again and again.

This project was such a success that we are now in our third year.

A dramatic re-enactment from 1776 (the year of the American Revolution), followed by a performer-led workshop.

Slave is a dynamic and thought-provoking 30-minute performance based on historical facts. It is challenging, entertaining, and exciting. The slave master John Taylor is always looking to expand his eighteenth-century slaving empire, whilst constantly struggling with his conscience and morality.
 

"It's not just cookery - it's a lesson in life!" A lively, family-entertaining show.

It's Saturday. Grandma Evelyn is cooking her famous Saturday soup for her too-busy daughter, Ruth, and her restless, wanna-mobile granddaughter, Yo Yo. They pass the time cooking, chatting, and laughing over silly songs and dances. But this Saturday is not like the others. Grandma Evelyn has a secret to tell Ruth and Yo Yo ... and she's not sure how they're going to react. Family viewing.

This was a scratch event held at the Arena Theatre in Birmingham hosted by r:evolve, a theatre development programme led by The Arena Theatre, Black Country Touring, and the mac. The programme is for Black, Asian and Chinese, and more recent immigrant and refugee status practitioners to create new theatre for the venues. On May 3, 2006, Margaret Polack of Sister Tree compered the scratch event, which featured Moqapi Sellasie, Aunt Harriot, Michael Aduwali, Alison Solomon, Ben Lilley, Damien Shaw and Jiva Parthipan.
 

Mixed Race Matters was a youth event exploring and celebrating mixed race identity. Held at the Midlands Art Centre (or mac) in Birmingham, and presented by the Inheritance Project, Mixed Race Matters featured an interactive drama by Sister Tree which sort to educate and entertain the audience about mixed race, identity and youth issues. The Inheritance Project's website is under construction.
 

Sister Tree is proud to be involved with Tooled Up, a community project run in conjunction with Birmingham rapper Witness and West Midlands Police. Designed to raise awareness amongst school pupils about knives and other weapons, the realities of their impacts, the reasons they're carried and why they shouldn't be. Sister Tree's involvement in the project will involve interactive drama and arts-based workshops which will aim to get to the heart of the issues. This project has its own page here.
 

This 2005 competitive showcase aimed to highlight the talents of our young people from the ages of 5 to 11. With pupils nominated from Birmingham schools, Ghetto Fabulous took the form of a talent show, with hopefuls performing music, dance, drama, comedy, presenting artwork, performing magic or circus skills, or producing any other form of art. Seeking to get community schools in touch with each other and develop the self-confidence of young people, Ghetto Fabulous was about helping kids realise they have real performing skills. Pupils from Saint Augustine's Catholic Primary, Yew Tree Primary, Welford Primary, Saint Michael's Church of England School and Matthew Boulton Primary took part.
 

Sister Tree works extensively within the prisons system, bringing the arts to inmates across the region. Our main collaborator is Sonic dB.
 

COMING SOON! Sister Tree will journey with the 'lions of Zulu land'. Experiencing the South Africa and Ethiopian world, we'll merge cultures to bring you the exciting, cutting edge new musical production Spaghetti Junkshun. This production is planned for the end of the year. It will explore why people are finding it difficult to define who they are and what they stand for in this ever-changing society. Examining the effects of multi-culturalism, Spaghetti Junkshun delves into the lives of five key characters that are all in conflict because of the history behind their journey to Birmingham. An in-yer-face musical with a message, Spaghetti Junkshun will be supplemented by workshops and pre- and post-show discussions.

We're planning to offer this production from October 2007 to March 2008, across England. Get in touch with us about it today!