Ones We Left Behind- part one

This resource is a Lesson starter for performance art students 16+. It will help in learning about the impact on the lives of families and diverse communities when we leave loved ones behind to start a new life in a new country.

Teachers will find the resource useful in encouraging students to look outwards with curiosity and respect, listening to and learning from real voices, and identifying that which is specific and unique. The information came from oral history workshops and community research in London in 2006 from diverse communities about families separated by continents, relocating to new countries, and merely moving from one city to another. These stories formed the basis for truthful, high-quality dramas, which genuinely celebrate diversity.



Included in the resource is a 30-minute play by Troy Andrew Fairclough, ‘Homeward Bound’ is set in the Departure Lounge at Heathrow Airport. Calvin, 43, makes a last-minute attempt to prevent his mother from boarding a plane. Pearl, his mother, is a woman in her sixties who knows her mind and wants to return to Jamaica to live out her retirement. While mother and son argue their differences, it is Calvin's teenage daughter Shinade who brings things to ahead. Pearl's beloved younger son, Courtney, is absent. Although Pearl is determined to go back to Jamaica, she is experiencing the same feelings of dread and excitement she felt about coming to England all those years ago.

This entertaining, informative play highlights issues and experiences of Caribbean people who came to Britain in the 1960s, and who have now decided to return home. Part two and three of this book is also available on TES