University of York students take centre stage at game launch
Posted on 3 November 2011
The new game, The Gunpowder Plot, was launched nationally at the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall in York this week, with local schoolchildren invited to experience one of the most critical moments in British history.
The children from Knavesmire, St Georges and Fishergate Schools embarked on an interactive historical journey to save the past and protect the future, guided by some interesting characters from 1605, all played by University students.
Six students, all studying Writing, Directing and Performance at the University’s Department of Theatre, Film and Television, were awarded parts following auditions with the BBC. Postgraduate student David Malinsky played the town crier, while undergraduates Alex Baldry, Jonathan Glasgow, Alex Gordon, Ela Gaworzewska and Alex Ferguson played the characters of Alice, plotters, a fool and Charlie.
Professor Andrew Higson, Head of the University’s Department of Theatre, Film and Television, said: “Talking to the actors ‘in character’ enabled children taking part in the launch to become immersed in the past, allowing them to unravel educational facts and evidence as they became Doctor Who detectives.
Talking to the actors ‘in character’ enabled children taking part in the launch to become immersed in the past
Professor Andrew Higson
“For our students it provided a fantastic opportunity to perform at a high-profile launch. The BBC was impressed with the calibre of our student actors and said the Department had some exceptional talent. The launch event was filmed by the BBC for an educational package for teachers showing how the game and accompanying resources can be used in the classroom – another valuable experience for our students.”
The game, which features Matt Smith as the Doctor, Karen Gillan as Amy, Arthur Darvill as Rory Williams and Ralf Little as Guy Fawkes, is co-produced by BBC Learning and allows historical facts to be discovered through play.
Student Alex Baldry, who played Alice, said: “It was great meeting the BBC team and being behind the scenes, seeing everything involved in putting this event together.”
Fellow student Alex Gordon, who played one of the plotters, added: “Acting in front of the children and bringing history to life was really exciting as they were so responsive and really became caught up in the story. It was a great experience to help children learn in a really exciting way.”
Sharing a changing room with Doctor Who characters such as a Sontaran and the Silence also added an out of this world dimension for the York students.
Controller of BBC Learning Saul Nassé said: “Computer games are now embedded in children’s culture and are almost an unavoidable part of their everyday lives. From an educational perspective it is increasingly making more and more sense to exploit that fact and to incorporate learning into a medium that children willingly embrace. This new game is a fantastic way to teach history because it’s gaming meets Doctor Who, meets adventure and action – all the things children love.”
Notes to editors:
- The launch event took place at the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall on Monday, 31 October.
- To find out more about The Gunpowder Plot visit www.bbc.co.uk/history/the_gunpowder_plot
- For more information about the Adventure Games visit: www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw/theadventuregames
- For more information on the University of York’s Department of Theatre, Film and Television visit www.york.ac.uk/tftv
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