The Village was first performed at the Almeida Theatre in London by the Almeida Young Company. The Almeida are a company that want to take risks to ‘provoke, inspire and surprise’ their audiences defining theatre as ‘an essential force in an increasingly fragmented society.’
In a generation where young people are let down, schools are deteriorating, the NHS is a disaster and the planet is doomed it feels like the powers that be just don't care. A group of teenagers, tired of the system, aim to create their own utopian future. The Youth for Today begin to protest and cause civil unrest forcing the Prime Minister to agree to a budget of one hundred million pounds a year to pilot the Youth Emancipation Programme. The young people are allowed to create their own society, but they have to agree that it will be reviewed in two years, the population will be capped at five thousand and it must all be up and running in two months or they will all be sent to ‘juvie’ for delinquent behaviour.
At its heart The Village is about democracy, power and striving to create a better world while questioning how you build a better society without making the same mistakes. The play follows a variety of characters from arty Cloud who welcomes newcomers with their ‘classic welcoming-induction-celebration-ritual dance’ to confident leader Missy who rallies the troops and leads the way. The community set about creating their new society and while some are delighted to learn that they don't have to go to school it soon becomes clear that the idea of ‘aging out’ and having to leave the community and integrate back into society with no skills or qualifications isn't so appealing. Soon sanitation is failing and food is short, although the High Council seem to be eating very well and an external audit reveals the cracks in the community.
The Village feels very relevant for use in school. It has a large cast and in the notes, it states that the original cast offered a lot of inspiration and future casts are encouraged to make the language and characters their own which gives scope not only for performance as school play but for use in the drama studio. This text would work very well at year 9 especially to highlight issues that are important to students.