A stroke of insight into a new Warwick charity
Pupils at Aylesford School rehearsing for their production A Stroke Of Insight. Picture submitted.
A CHALLENGING, wistful and occasionally comic book about the workings of the human brain has been turned into a play by some of the pupils of Aylesford School who are preparing to stage it early next month.
A cast of 32 will take part in A Stroke Of Insight, which can be seen at the Dream Factory theatre, in the grounds of the Warwick school, between March 7 and 9.
Tickets for the three performances will be sold in aid of the Mat Davis Brain Cancer Foundation which has already been set up and is just about to become a registered charity.
Mat, who died in November last year at the age of 23, was a former pupil at Aylesford and inspired many in the town by the way he dealt with his diagnosis of inoperable tumour some three years earlier.
Teacher Gethin Jones says A Stroke Of Insight is based on a collection of real case studies written by neurologist Oliver Sacks and published under the title The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat.
He said: “The cast delve into these case studies and force the audience to consider what happens when connections in the brain are broken.
“But it’s certainly not all doom and gloom for the audience as this performance will be in turn comic, wistful, engaging and extremely watchable.”
Mr Jones, who has directed the drama, says the pupils were glad to support the new foundation, set up by Mat’s parents, Jo and Tony Buckingham, because it will provide counselling and guidance to the relatives of young people in Warwickshire who are diagnosed with terminal illness.
Mr Jones added: “The subject matter of the play lends itself quite naturally to this particular cause. Mat was a pupil here and so we are keen that proceeds from the production support this very good cause.”
Since Mat’s death, Jo and Tony Buckingham have tried to cope with their grief by keeping busy and raising money for the foundation from a variety of sources. On March 2, they have even agreed to take part in a mass skydive in aid of Myton Hospice, where staff took such good care of Mat in the last ten weeks of his life.
Among the 30 already signed up to do the skydive are Warwick hairdresser Sonia Hood, who had a charity box containing some £700 stolen from her salon in January.
All performances of A Stroke Of Insight start at 7.30pm and will be about an hour long. Tickets cost £6 or £4 concessions and school staff will be particularly glad to welcome members of the public to The Dream Factory theatre on any of the three nights. To reserve a seat contact the school on 747100.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Warwick
Thursday 23 May 2013
Today
Light showers
Temperature: 4 C to 11 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Light rain
Temperature: 5 C to 11 C
Wind Speed: 23 mph
Wind direction: North
