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The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

The Jungle Book

"The children were spellbound!"

Arena bring their imaginative style and skill to this new adaptation of L. Frank Baum's classic book. With the help of her dog Toto, and her friends, the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Man, Dorothy travels to Oz only to find that the Wizard is not all that he seems to be.

Arena's colourful, dramatic storytelling incorporates drama, music, dance and soft toys. The production is devised to encourage children to use their imaginations and to use toys to make their own plays and stories. Our use of humour, movement and eye-catching design engages pupils of all abilities.

Arena's unique production style and workshop encourages reading and creative play. It is also a useful resource for the literacy strategy drama strand.

We toured this production from December until the end of January 2009. Watch this space for news on the Winter 2009/10 tour.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was brought to you with the help of funding from Bedfordshire and Community Foundation Grassroots Grants.

Jungle Book

Arena's one off performance of The Jungle Book in Luton for the Summer Festival was a great success. With over 350 people in the audience we were the biggest draw of the festival, and the audience stayed with us even though the heavens threatened rain!

Arena's latest issue-based play Missing Peace enjoyed three tours.
After the success of the pilot tour in Luton we were able to offer it to Bedfordshire schools and then toured Luton schools for a second year. Helped by the superb feedback from Luton schools after the first tour we received funding from the Local Network Fund to offer Missing Peace, free of charge, to Luton schools once again.
Aimed at pupils in Year 7, Missing Peace tackles issues based on disability and inclusion. The play weaved together the stories of three main characters: Lisa, Simon and Ben.
Lisa and Ben go to the same school. Every day as they wait at the bus stop they are behind Simon, a quiet man who keeps looking at his watch. A dramatic and almost tragic incident brings these three together in a way that none of them would have ever dreamed.
The performance was followed by an open forum where the audience was invited to question the actors in role. The whole programme lasted about an hour.
Arena were originally commissioned to produce Missing Peace by Luton Social Services in association with The Luton and Bedfordshire Youth Association. Funding was provided by the Children’s Fund. Our brief was to put together a programme which looked at issues surrounding disability and inclusion. We concentrated on the areas of Aspergers/Autism, ADHD, and physical disability after an accident. We aim to raise awareness of the issues for all students.
At present we are not sure when it will tour again.
Click here for further information.

In every play we write we include many issues that may surround the core subject. We always welcome suggestions of issues that we should be tackling.




Home News History Issue Based Plays Who We Are Galleries	The Wonderful Wizard of Oz	The Jungle Book
	"The children were spellbound!" Arena bring their imaginative style and skill to this new adaptation of L. Frank Baum's classic book. With the help of her dog Toto, and her friends, the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Man, Dorothy travels to Oz only to find that the Wizard is not all that he seems to be. Arena's colourful, dramatic storytelling incorporates drama, music, dance and soft toys. The production is devised to encourage children to use their imaginations and to use toys to make their own plays and stories. Our use of humour, movement and eye-catching design engages pupils of all abilities. Arena's unique production style and workshop encourages reading and creative play. It is also a useful resource for the literacy strategy drama strand. We toured this production from December until the end of January 2009. Watch this space for news on the Winter 2009/10 tour. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was brought to you with the help of funding from Bedfordshire and Community Foundation Grassroots Grants.	Arena's one off performance of The Jungle Book in Luton for the Summer Festival was a great success. With over 350 people in the audience we were the biggest draw of the festival, and the audience stayed with us even though the heavens threatened rain! Arena's latest issue-based play Missing Peace enjoyed three tours. After the success of the pilot tour in Luton we were able to offer it to Bedfordshire schools and then toured Luton schools for a second year. Helped by the superb feedback from Luton schools after the first tour we received funding from the Local Network Fund to offer Missing Peace, free of charge, to Luton schools once again. Aimed at pupils in Year 7, Missing Peace tackles issues based on disability and inclusion. The play weaved together the stories of three main characters: Lisa, Simon and Ben. Lisa and Ben go to the same school. Every day as they wait at the bus stop they are behind Simon, a quiet man who keeps looking at his watch. A dramatic and almost tragic incident brings these three together in a way that none of them would have ever dreamed. The performance was followed by an open forum where the audience was invited to question the actors in role. The whole programme lasted about an hour. Arena were originally commissioned to produce Missing Peace by Luton Social Services in association with The Luton and Bedfordshire Youth Association. Funding was provided by the Children’s Fund. Our brief was to put together a programme which looked at issues surrounding disability and inclusion. We concentrated on the areas of Aspergers/Autism, ADHD, and physical disability after an accident. We aim to raise awareness of the issues for all students. At present we are not sure when it will tour again. Click here for further information. In every play we write we include many issues that may surround the core subject. We always welcome suggestions of issues that we should be tackling.