A letter from our Artistic Director

Losing It

Why?

• 6 out of 10 teenagers say they have been asked for sexual images or videos. • 40% have created a sexual image or video. • 1 in 3 10-year-olds have seen pornography online. • 1 in 5 women experience some form of sexual violence.

Losing It is a musical play for year 9+, offering sex education as you’ve never seen it before – “Because there’s a bit more to it than sperm meets egg”.

All the boys at school seem to be only interested in one thing, so when naive Charlotte meets an older guy online who promises her a fairytale romance, she is sure it’s true love. It’s up to her friend Ash to try and stop her from making a terrible mistake, but Ash has worries of their own – “Are you a boy or a girl?”. When a drunken year 11 house party gets out of control, Tim makes a decision which will affect both him and Seren for the rest of their lives – “She didn’t say no!”. Meanwhile, Mike’s become hooked on internet pornography, David’s still a virgin and Rob’s fallen in love. We tell the story of a group of 18-year-olds as they look back on their 7 years at secondary school. Developed in partnership with young people from a range of schools, this frank and inclusive, large-scale 90-minute production addresses the questions young people really want answered.

How?

Losing It was developed in response to working directly with young people who told us what they felt was missing from their sex education. The play and detailed Teachers’ Pack:

• Shows both healthy and unhealthy relationships providing a starting point for further discussion. • Offers an inclusive model of sex education where LGBTQ young people are included, often for the first time. • Explores the emotional impact of sexting. • Educates young people about the dangers of online relationships and shows how young people can be groomed. • Looks at how internet pornography can affect relationships. • Explores in detail consent and the consequences of rape. • Supports existing teaching on contraception and the dangers of STIs.

Feedback

• Before watching the performance 39% of students said they ‘knew a lot’ about sexual consent. After watching the performance this was 82%.

• 84% of teachers agree that students have actively engaged in conversation about the issues raised in Losing It after seeing the production.

“The theatre production has boosted my confidence to speak up in moments where something didn’t feel right. When the characters talked about what they would have done, I think that taught me not to be afraid because it could stop something bad from happening.”

“Well done, probably the best play the school has had by far, it was very well presented with the funny side to things whilst also covering serious matters, it will also help other younger people to understand more about these topics as they are not covered well enough in schools.”

“We got to see what people wanted to happen and how it actually unraveled. It made me realise that you just have to stop sometimes and question what is happening.”

“It was a great play and I believe it changed the way people look at sex and relationships now for the better and it makes us feel more confident in our sexuality, thank you for making us look deeper into the issues and change how we act.”

4.5 stars from pupils 5 stars from teachers