The ground-breaking Theatre in Education (TiE) movement was first pioneered by the Belgrade in 1965 as a way to use theatre and drama to create a range of learning opportunities for young people.
Actor-teachers from the Belgrade’s permanent TiE Company would tour local schools where they would perform short pieces of theatre and lead workshops that allowed students to explore important issues and ideas in active and creative ways.
The TiE movement soon spread to theatres across the UK, and then to broader contexts across the globe, inspiring a wide range of participatory theatre with children and young people, encouraging and empowering children to investigate challenging situations for themselves.
In 2015, the Belgrade Theatre celebrated the 50th Anniversary of establishing its dedicated TiE Company with a year-long festival of events entitled Inspiring Curiosity. See below for more information.
INSPIRING CURIOSITY Celebrating 50 years of Theatre in Education
2015 saw the 50th Anniversary of Theatre in Education (TiE) at the Belgrade, marking 50 years since the establishment of a company dedicated to using theatrical performance and drama workshops to explore issues of cultural, social, political and moral significance as part of a free service to schools and the young people of Coventry. TiE encourages children to investigate challenging situations for themselves, to search to find the answer, rather than be given it on a plate.
To mark this significant anniversary, the Belgrade held a year of events to celebrate and promote theatre made for and with young people. Events included a two-week festival of theatre by and for young people in July, a two-day international conference exploring the relationship between theatre and learning, and a two-week festival of theatre for children and families in October.