The Big Wheel Logo!
Tel: 0044 20 7689 8670
Home
 

Recruitment

 

Schools in the UK

 

Schools abroad

 

Conferences

 

Training

 

The NHS

 

Events

 
Our Venue
 
Our Local Community
 
More about Big Wheel
 

Who's Who?

 
How To Contact Us
Big Wheel Theatre in Education
SCHOOLS ABROAD

Big Wheel is famous all over Europe for presenting schools workshops that students really love.

If you are a teacher wanting a show to encourage students learning go to English Language Workshops

If you are a teacher wanting a show about English Literature go to Literature Workshops

If you would like Big Wheel to arrange a fantastic cutural visit to London, go London Visits

English Language Workshops

BIG WHEEL'S language workshops are up-to-the-minute in their use of multimedia references, parody and games. They are not simply an exercise in language practice, but a cultural exchange which audiences and presenters never forget. Always enjoyable, Big Wheel shows provide a wealth of material suitable for classroom follow-up work.

"BREAKFAST WITH BIG WHEEL"
(ages: 10-15 and adult beginners)

Meet The Family in The Breakfast Game.

"Meet the family in
the Breakfast Game".

TELEVISION is the key to this show, which is a parody of the T.V. "magazine" format - its personalities, its genres and its special vocabulary.

Students are familiar with the material. Younger ones enjoy the games. Older students appreciate the parody.

As a vehicle for teaching English, the show works brilliantly, because there are so many opportunities for interaction. Duration: 90 minutes

(Audience maximum 60)

Fees for Breakfast With Big Wheel - euros:

  • €600 for one workshop
  • €500 for a second workshop
  • €300 for each additional workshop on the same day or consecutive days

Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland:

  • SEK 5.500 / DKR 4.500 / SFR 900 for one workshop
  • SEK 4.500 / DKR 3.500 / SFR 750 for a second workshop
  • SEK 2.750 / DKR 2.250 / SFR 450 for each additional workshop on the same day or consecutive days

Fees are all inclusive - there are no 'hidden extras'.

Literature Workshops

BIG WHEEL'S literature workshops try to help students appreciate the texts they have to study. This is partly by showing how "modern" many of the texts are - even those written four hundred years ago.

But also Big Wheel's natural, spontaneous approach to literature encourages individual students to make their own critical judgements and develop their own tastes. These shows are also a great way to practice English in a challenging but non-threatening environment.

(Audience maximum for all literature workshops: 100)

"INTRODUCTION TO SHAKESPEARE"
(for students beginning Shakespeare)

We explain why Shakespeare is so famous and provide a wealth of information about his life and work. Highlights include:

• A look at the structure and atmosphere of the "Globe Theatre"

• A Shakespeare video nasty

• The characters from A Midsummer Night's Dream interviewed by Jerry Springer.

We celebrate the 400th anniversary of the first production of Shakespeare's most most famous play "Hamlet" with the audience's own version...

Hamlet and Ophelia.

A tender moment between Hamlet and Ophelia.


"Shakespeare and Tragedy"
(for students studying Shakespeare)

Why do Shakespeare's tragedies have such dramatic power? This workshop combines seriousness and fun. A hilarious interactive presentation of the beginning of Macbeth, contrasts with an analysis of Hamlet's "To be or not to be" soliloquy. The audience watches a moving performance of the climax of Othello and finally takes part in Shakespeare's own parody of Tragedy, "Pyramus and Thisbe".


Thisbe discovers her lover Pyramus is dead.

Thisbe discovers her lover Pyramus is dead ...

"Asleep, my love?
What, dead, my dove?"



"THE BIG BOOK SHOW"

How do you read a book critically? This workshop is full of good ideas for students who have to read and study novels. In the Big Book Show we refer to these novels:

• Animal Farm by George Orwell

• Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

• The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald


• The Barrytown Trilogy ('The Commitments', 'The Snapper' and 'The Van by Roddy Doyle

GUESS THE BOOK...

FROM

TO

Fees for Literature Shows - euros:

  • €750 for one workshop
  • €600 for a second workshop

Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland:

  • SEK 6.500 / DKR 5.500 / SFR 1.150 for one workshop
  • SEK 4.500 / DKR 3.500 / SFR 750 for a second workshop
  • SEK 2.750 / DKR 2.250 / SFR 450 for each additional workshop on the same day or consecutive days

Fees are all inclusive - there are no 'hidden extras'.

London visits

A cultural experience arranged by Big Wheel

...

Big Wheel has toured schools abroad for more than 20 years. Four years ago, from our beautiful new venue in central London, we started to arrange visits by foreign schools to London. There are three aspects to the services we offer:

(1) Big Wheel shows

Groups can come to Big Wheel's base and watch one of our interactive presentations, such as our language show, 'The Really Big Big Wheel Show' or one of our literature shows e.g. 'Introduction to Shakespeare'.

(2) Guided tours of London led by Big Wheel actors

Big Wheel actors are experts at interacting with young people and helping them enjoy and learn from a variety of activities. A walking tour of London with Big Wheel actors is fun, and very different from the usual tourist guides. Often, schools ask us to focus on a particular theme. These include:

- Shakespeare's London (including a visit to Shakespeare's Globe)

- Mediaeval London

- London's connections with the students' country (e.g. Holland)

(3) Drama courses for students or teachers

We offer drama courses to groups of up to 20. These are not just for those interested in theatre as a career, but anyone interested in our methods of presentation, including teachers. Courses can last from a single day to a whole week. Usually sightseeing and theatre visits are included in the programme.

Schools sometimes use us for just one thing, but more often, we arrange a variety of activities, e.g. a performance of 'Introduction to Shakespeare' at our venue, then a walking tour of the City of London, finishing up with a visit to Shakespeare's Globe.

We can arrange everything for the school apart from accommodation and travel. So in addition to our role as presenters and guides, we can reserve theatre tickets, book tours of Shakespeare's Globe, arrange cheap meals at local restaurants, suggest shopping trips (!) etc.

Costs depend on the size of your group, and how much you ask us to provide. A show costs exactly the same as having a show in your school (for instance 750 euros for a Introduction to Shakespeare).

Here are two examples of visits and their costs. N.B. These are just examples. Please let us know what you'd like us to do for you and we will come up with a plan and costings. And there's no need to confine your visit to London only. So do ask if you want us to throw in a tour of Shakespeare's Stratford, or a visit to Oxford.

Visits to London: examples (all prices in EUROS)

(a) A 'Shakespeare Day' for a large group: €1.850

Duration: one day

Audience: This was for a group of 90 fifteen-year-old students and 6 teachers from a school in The Netherlands.

The group was divided into two groups of 45 each. Each group watched a performance of 'Introduction to Shakespeare', visited Shakespeare's Globe and went on a walking tour of the City of London.

(b) A 3-day course in 'Theatre In Education' for a small group: €3.750

Duration: three days (the group were in London for four days, but spent the first day sightseeing and shopping)

Audience: This was for a group of 18 seventeen-year-old students and 2 teachers from a school in Sweden. They had all seen a Big Wheel show at their school the year before and wanted to find out more about our methods, with the aim of creating their own educational theatre.In advance of the visit, we sent students a questionnaire about what exactly they wanted to get out of their visit to London

Each morning we worked with the students on theatre skills, and on devising educational theatre. In the afternoons, we accompanied them to various sights and museums such. In the evenings we attended a West End musical Phantom of the Opera, and a Shakespeare play, The Merchant of Venice. The students used material from these excursions in the presentations they devised.

On the final day, the students presented their own pieces of educational theatre to the group. Later, back in Sweden, these were further developed and refined and taken around primary schools in their region.


e-mail Big Wheel!