Creating theatre pieces that cross European borders

They are taking part in a two-year partnership project between the Leeds theatre and Theater an der Parkaue in Berlin. The project, entitled Borderlines, sends German and English young people aged between 16 and 20 out to explore borders within their cities with the purpose of creating new work. "There are three parts to the project," explains Gail McIntyre, Associate Director of Young People's Theatre at the West Yorkshire Playhouse. "The first is the exchange of young people, the second is an exchange of work and the third is to create a joint production that will be shown in both theatres in spring 2011."

In October 2009, a group of seven young people from Leeds met up with ten young people who live in Berlin to investigate the history of the city with particular reference to the Wall – a physical border between citizens – on the 20th anniversary of its fall. "Looking at borders in Leeds might be about the different communities that have settled and live in Leeds and the psychological boundaries that exist between them," says McIntyre. "The theme can be as broad as the group want it to be – it is the young people themselves who make the decision."

Throughout the week of workshops in Leeds, involving the same 17 youngsters who worked together in Berlin, British writer Aisha Khan will observe the way in which themes are developed. The aim is to provide her with a starting point for writing next year's joint production which will be directed by Berlin-based director Lajos Talamonti. "It's been fascinating seeing the different perspectives and the differences in the way we work," says McIntyre. "We have already learned so much from each other."

The exchange of work took place in February this year when the Theater an der Parkaue presented Die Kindertransporte (in German with surtitles) for two nights in the Courtyard Theatre. The play told the story of the transportation in 1938 of 10,000 Jewish children from Germany to Britain to escape persecution under the Nazis. Based on reports and witness accounts by children actually involved, the production was performed in the same week and same space as Worm Collector, a play by Jodie Marshall about knife crime and bullying that has been touring schools in Yorkshire.

"Then we took Worm Collector to Berlin," says McIntyre. "It was really well received. We did three performances which were very successful and we ran workshops with young people." Jess Farmer, Creative Education Officer at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, has been involved in running workshops in both cities, working alongside Theater an der Parkaue's dramaturg Anne Paffenholz and the creative teams. "We've all been really pleased by how quickly and how well the group gelled," she says. "The project has enabled them to develop performance and social skills and given them the opportunity to work with professional writers and directors. It's been a wonderful educational experience all round."