London Workshop Company is a Drama in Education Company based in Chiswick Town Hall but operating all over London and beyond. It was set up in 1996 to foster young people’s education in schools and in the community. We have worked with thousands of children over the years from all walks of life in all different settings imaginable and achieved award winning results for our innovative approach and projects. There is a detailed listing of past projects in our Archive section.
We are a culturally aware and diverse team of professional leaders with cross-arts performance backgrounds. The pool of facilitators cover a wide range of specialist skills such as mime, mask, film making, musical theatre, wheelchair dancing to name but a few! Please see our Leaders section for more details.
Mission Statement: Our mission is to provide access to education for all children and adults no matter what their preferred learning style. By using an ACTIVE and DRAMATIC approach to learning children are learning from “Doing” which engenders a more memorable experience. By becoming characters, objects, places, even abstract concepts, the children get to visualize and embody what they are learning, which is a very powerful way of seeing and experiencing topics from the inside point of view. Alongside this agenda there is also the more hidden aspects of learning; of working co-operatively with others, of sharing time, space and focus, of bringing self-discipline to the lesson, of coming to understand ethical and moral issues and becoming a more informed citizen. We use Drama techniques to deliver all aspects of the National Curriculum from Maths to History, Science to English, for all ages from 2 to adults, regardless of ethnicity, social background and ability.
These techniques have been developed by Ruth over her 38 years of experience.
Venues worked in: We will work in any location and have already worked in the following: Nurseries, Infant, Primary & Secondary schools, Museums & Galleries, Art Centres, Parks & Playgrounds, Shopping Precincts, Prisons, Care Centres for the Disabled, Hospitals and more! In the last 7 years we have been working in partnership with the College of North West London working with adults with disabilities and special learning needs in their outreach centres across Brent and Harrow. See our Archives for more detailed information on different venues we have worked in.
Educational Topics Covered: Literacy – including Poetry, Stories from Around the World, Myths and Legends; Numeracy through story telling; History – both Local Heritage and General; Geography; Science; Green Issues; Natural sciences; Dance – including Wheelchair dance; PSE topics – from Bullying to Drug Awareness; etc.
We will tailor make and design the right programme for the needs of your client group so don’t be afraid to ask for something special or something that’s not listed. We specialize in being innovative and creative in designing programmes that suit all situations.
Performance Days: A range of topics is available to suit different age ranges. The team perform a 30 – 45 minute piece followed up with workshops. Please see Performance Days for a full listing.
Training Sessions Available: Basic techniques and strategies; Drama Across the Curriculum; Developing a PSE programme through drama; Story-Telling; Teacher-In-Role, etc. Please see Training Days for a full listing.
After School Clubs: A fun series of 10 sessions looking at a different theme each term. Please see After School Clubs for more information.
Contact Details
Please contact us to request a brochure or if you have any questions or queries about LWC.
London Workshop Company
Chiswick Town Hall,
Heathfield Terrace,
London,
W4 4JN
e: londonworkshop@madasafish.com
t: 020 8996 9085
f: 020 8996 9085
m: 07966 279 377
Ruth Burgess – Workshop Director
Ruth has a background in dance and drama training. She has a Cert.Ed and 12 years experience of teaching Drama, English & Media Studies in Secondary schools. Ruth also has an A.D.B.ed in Drama. Ruth is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She is a qualified dance teacher with the IDTA to Associate level in Ballet, Stage, Modern & Tap. Ruth is also a qualified teacher of Wheelchair dance using Ballroom and Latin American dance.
Ruth set up LWC in 1996 after being the Senior Workshop Leader for the Unicorn Theatre for 11 years previously. In this post Ruth took children across the world to perform in Children’s theatre festivals and gained an International reputation for her work. She continues to be invited to many different countries to run both training sessions for teachers and actors and sessions for the children.
As LWC Ruth has maintained a reputation for providing quality educational workshops with her team of leaders and expanded her programmes to meet the needs of different communities and settings. Ruth designs and writes the programmes to meet the needs of individual clients using her story telling skills and poetry.