The mythical Welsh giant Gwendol might have assumed that his only legacy to Shropshire was creating The Wrekin hill near Telford. Little did he realise that he would go on to inspire school children across the county to explore the wonders of theatre-making thanks to Pentabus, the nation’s rural touring company, supported by a grant from Vibrant Shropshire funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
For over fifty years, Pentabus, who are now based in Ludlow, have promoted bringing together communities and young people, with contemporary productions from creative teams, directly to isolated rural communities, as well as platforming rural stories in urban settings. They champion people of all ages to explore their creativity with particular emphasis on developing pathways into careers in the creative industries for those underrepresented and for people under thirty years of age who live rurally. The Pentabus Young Company initiative offers playwriting workshops in schools, further and higher education, work experience and mentorships.
The brief for the Vibrant Shropshire commission was to propose an exciting and innovative programme of cultural activities that focuses on ‘Celebrating Shropshire’ whether it be its heritage, natural landscapes or cultural scene, with the condition that it should also enable rural communities to overcome barriers to participation in the arts.
“Our classes had an incredible experience participating in the Pentabus project! The pupils gained confidence in expressing themselves, working as a team, and performing in front of others and within a real-life, working theatre. The workshops also deepened the pupils’ connection to local folklore, bringing stories to life in a fun and engaging way. It was a truly enriching experience that left a lasting impact on their skills and self-belief.” – Class Teacher, Coleham Primary School
Pentabus’ winning submission was to deliver an ambitious story-telling and performing arts project that would involve 180 Key Stage 2 pupils from primary schools across Shropshire, working with Coleham, Hanwood, Highley and The Bluehills Federation. Each youngster attended four 2-hour workshops led by a professional performing artist, where they were first introduced to an adaptation of the fable of Gwendol by writer and award-winning spoken artist Henry Maddicott. Pupils then created performances based on this story that also reflected their own issues, views on the environment and experiences. The schools chose their own art form of drama, music or dance with the culmination of the project being two live performances of pupils’ own original creative works, “Gwendol, A Giant Problem”, staged at the Assembly Rooms in Ludlow in front of an excited audience of friends and relatives. The performance was narrated by Henry Maddicott and professional actor Jacoba Williams and presented a re-envisioned folk tale celebrating Shropshire’s heritage and legends. The project fostered cohesion between different school communities across the county, supported curriculum outcomes for history, literacy and oracy and laid a solid foundation for young people in the county to engage meaningfully with cultural activity. As part of the commission, Pentabus has created a digital legacy as local filmmaker, Idriss Assoumanou, documented the project and this will be shared across a variety of platforms.
“I just wanted to say a huge thank you to all the staff involved in yesterday’s performance. They were amazing and it was such a lovely evening. To see the difference in [my child] brought tears my eyes. He came out absolutely buzzing. On stage he looked so confident – singing his little heart out.” – Parent of a pupil involved in Gwendol: A Giant Problem
Pentabus is developing a brand new youth theatre for young people aged 11 – 18 for September 2025, with sessions running on Wednesday evenings at Ludlow Assembly Rooms. Students from the Celebrating Shropshire project will be encouraged to participate. For more information, visit www.pentabus.co.uk
Pentabus was awarded funding from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity via Vibrant Shropshire’s ‘Celebrating Shropshire’ Commission in January 2025.
