Award-winning UK playwright Brendan Murray is putting the finishing touches to Once Upon an Island…, which receives its première before the Lieut-Governor, Air Chief Marshal Sir John Cheshire, at Rouge Bouillon School on 26 February.Arts Centre director Daniel Austin said the play was aimed at Year 5 and 6 pupils aged between nine and 11 years.
It is designed to tell the story of the 800 years since the Island severed ancestral links with Normandy and the French crown by swearing allegiance to King John.However, Once Upon a Time…
is not a conventional history lesson but has been inspired by workshops held in the Island in June with schoolchildren and Mr Murray’s research with help from such bodies as the Société Jersiaise and the Jersey Heritage Trust.
It is an educational play starring professional actors and Jersey schoolchildren, produced by the Arts Centre and partly funded by Education, Sport and Culture.
The costumes and sets have been designed by professional designer Janis Hart.
