Members of Company Three are recording their experiences of the pandemic in weekly video diaries shared with young people across the world
Teenageers in Islington are sharing their time capsules of life under lockdown with young people across the world.
The week-by-week video diaries are the brainchild of Islington youth theatre Company Three who hope the Coronovirus Time Capsule will serve as a record of the pandemic through the eyes of teenagers.
They are offering a resource pack free to youth groups across the world.
The launch video on March 27 recieved thousands of views in three days and hundreds of youth theatres, drama groups and community arts projects worldwide have signed up to recieve free resources to support them in making their own Time Capsules.
They hail from Wales to Belfast, Inverness to Jersey and internationally from Australia, Brazil, Croatia, Italy, Kenya, New Zealand and the USA.
The company based in Islington Central Library off Holloway Road hope the scheme, in partership with Nick Hern Books, will help teenagers battle isolation and anxiety during lockdown and school closures, and create a space to express themselves.
Each week the 70 members aged 11-19 make films about life under lockdown - supported by online workshops, video tasks, and phone mentoring.
Every Friday they release their work in a video time capsule with topics so far ranging from pets to Boris Johnson’s illness, baking, dancing, Bible study, boredom and schoolwork.
One member has contributed a rap, while another described feeling like “a penguin in handcuffs.”
By the end, Company Three hopes to have developed a strong network of youth groups working together to encourage creativity and build communities across the world.
Ned Glasier, Artistic Director of Company Three who have created more than 50 shows in collaboration with professional theatremakers since they formed in 2008, said: “The shutdown is going to feel particularly difficult for teenagers, stuck in a space that is only partially theirs, living through all that the pandemic will bring and missing out on hugely significant moments in their education. We wanted to do something to provide support and a space to be heard - and then to connect with all the other teenagers in similar situations.
“We are so inspired that so many people have signed up already and can’t wait to see what they make. This unprecedented global emergency should also be an opportunity for unprecedented global sharing, understanding and connection.”
Group member Allegresse, 14, said: “The response to our Time Capsule makes me feel reassured that with everything going on there are still people who care what we have to say. It’s our generation who’s going to be in charge of what happens in our world and even though we are mainly controlled by adults it’s our world as well so it’s nice to know that people still care about what we think.”
View the first three diaries at companythree.co.uk
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