Verse in Action: Performing Poetry to Learners of English as a Second Language in Poland

Abstract

This article is an account of a project sponsored by the British Council in Poland. Eight students from the Drama department at Exeter University created a ‘poetry show’ based on poems in English for children and gave performances in schools and teachers' colleges in and around the cities of Torun and Krakow. The initial section describes how the project was born, its aims in bringing a theatre event to the language classroom, in English without the aid of interpreters, and the principles followed in the devising process for making the meaning and drama of each poem clear and exciting for audiences with a limited command of English. The final section of the article highlights key moments from the eight-day tour and specific responses from Polish pupils and the Exeter students to their experience as participants in this cross-cultural event. The project was the first of its type to take place in Poland.