‘The Bench’ – A Powerful New Play Touring the North East & Cumbria, Endorsed by Show Racism the Red Card
We are proud to share that The Bench, a compelling new play by Jeff Brown, will be touring the North East of England from 22nd May to 21st June 2025. The play tells the moving story of two young people navigating life’s opportunities while confronting societal challenges.
Show Racism the Red Card (SRtRC) is delighted to endorse The Bench and support its powerful message. Drama and the arts play a vital role in exploring social justice issues, and this production offers a unique opportunity to engage audiences in conversations about racism and its impact on individuals and communities.
Click here to find a performance near you or to find out more about the play.
James Kingett, North East Education Manager at SRtRC, said:
“Show Racism the Red Card are delighted to endorse The Bench and are excited to see how it is received by audiences. We believe that drama and the arts are a brilliant vehicle for the exploration of social justice issues and can play a unique role in raising awareness of concepts like racism and the impact that it can have on individuals and communities. We encourage anyone with the opportunity to seek out a performance. Writer Jeff Brown is someone who has reported on Show Racism the Red Card’s anti-racism education events with football clubs over many years, and therefore it has been fantastic to link up with him again to understand more about his motivations for writing the play and the impact that he hopes that it will have.
In addition to endorsing the play, Show Racism the Red Card have developed a new educational workshop that is being delivered in partnership with the team at Gala Durham, which will see us working with several secondary schools and settings to deliver workshops that further explore the key themes of the play”
We’ve also teamed up with North East Combined Authority and Gala Durham to provide free educational resources on our Education Hub for teachers and youth leaders.
SRtRC’s interactive workshops unlock the powerful themes of the play, giving audiences a deeper connection to its story.
Campaign worker, David McArdle, shares:
“The educational workshops offer the young people in attendance an opportunity to dive into an engaging interactive learning experience highlighting the importance of valuing the perspectives of groups with different characteristics and the privileges that we may take for granted throughout our everyday life.”
Download the Information Pack here, which includes access to the full teaching resources.
The workshops are available to secondary schools in the North East of England.
Spaces for the workshops are limited so if your school is interested in taking part, please contact neadmin@theredcard.org for more information.
The Bench is a powerful medium to convey urgent social messages—but don’t just take our word for it. See it for yourself!
