Thought-provoking anti-bullying play set to tour Tameside schools again this year

Hive North has developed a cutting-edge play, OUTLOUD, to raise awareness and understanding of diversity and discrimination.

Seen by more than 50,000 young people and receiving praise from both teachers and Ofsted, the performance delves into issues such as homophobia, cyber-bullying and hate crime & how you can report these. The 30-minute play is also combined with an interactive workshop exploring the topics highlighted during the production.

Adam Zane, artistic director at Hive North, said: "The inspiration for OUTLOUD was really down to a play I read about Matthew Shepard, a gay student who was a victim of a hate crime. That play literally changed my life and I thought I really want to direct this with young people."

"I ended up directing it with students at Salford University and it changed every one of us. We became activists, we became really angry about what had happened to Matthew - it's a horrific hate crime. And it was seeing the audiences change too, and realising we were doing something really important here. That’s why it continued, I just didn’t want it to end."

"It's always been in my mind that we can't be complacent, there's still hate crimes going on and we need to educate people. I visited a school where they did an assembly about Matthew Shepard and I was just blown away by it, I just thought 'how did they know that I had such a connection to him?' So coincidentally, OUTLOUD does tell the story of Matthew. Every year we do interviews with young people across Greater Manchester, just to make sure it's relevant and giving a true reflection. Everything on stage has really been said by someone so it's almost like watching a documentary."

Tameside Council’s Executive Member for Education, Achievement and Equalities, Cllr Leanne Feeley, said: “I’m delighted that we’ve been able to facilitate Hive North’s play and workshop touring secondary schools in Tameside. It’s an effective and proven way to engage with young people on the dreadful effects of homophobic bullying and raise awareness and understanding.

“These brilliant performances and education will help empower our young people to recognise and report hate crime and help us eradicate any abuse in Tameside.”

Based on previous evaluations, the play has been proven to have an immediate effect upon its audience. Prior to the play, 21% of young people admitted they would challenge or report homophobia in schools. However following the play and workshop, 93% of pupils would challenge or report homophobic bullying.

OUTLOUD will be available for your school during Greater Manchester's Hate Crime Awareness Week 2023 from February 6 to February 10. The play is fully funded for schools in Tameside.