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The Curious Incident of the Playwright at Eastbrook

 

Okay – it wasn’t really that curious! But there was a lot of curiosity.

On Friday 4th November renowned playwright, Simon Stephens, visited Eastbrook School.

Known for plays such as ‘A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime’ and ‘Punk Rock’, Simon has been commissioned by the National Theatre to write a new play. As part of his research, Simon wanted to speak to our students to investigate what it is like to be a teenager in Dagenham. His research group consisted of eleven students from Year 11, who thoughtfully discussed questions such as ‘what is the best thing about living in Dagenham?’ and ‘what are you most scared about for the future?’

To thank the school for their support, Simon also offered a workshop for Year 10 and Year 13 Drama students, who asked him insightful questions about the playwriting process.

Simon was full of compliments for our students. He finished the session answering one of his own questions: ‘what makes you most excited about for the future?’

His answer?

‘that the future is in the hands of the people in this room!’

Who knows, maybe when the play is written we’ll recognise some of the dialogue as that inspired by Eastbrook students!

 

Miss Pearson