One of our favourite things about Brighton and Hove is the sense of inclusivity, community and connectedness that is generated by people all around the city collaborating and working together to create positive change.
The Crew Club is a grassroots community led hub nestled at the bottom of the South Downs in Whitehawk, East Brighton, that provides much needed opportunities for young people in the community.
Whitehalk is in the bottom 5% most socially and economically deprived neighbourhoods in the whole of England and despite many people within the community working extremely hard, many can still struggle to provide the bare essentials, let alone be able to provide their children with access to creative opportunities.
The team at Crew Club work tirelessly all year to provide children in the community with access to these opportunities, providing a full programme of free, open access activities aimed at improving their health and emotional and psychological wellbeing.
Windmill Young Actors is an open youth theatre company running weekly classes in Brighton, Hastings and Lewes for young performers between 8 & 12 year olds. They believe that their weekly drama classes help to build confidence, teamwork, focus, imagination and a sense of achievement and belonging. Students get the opportunity to learn from acclaimed scripts and playwrights. They develop their own productions and learn skills from directing, script writing & technical production. They even get the opportunity to take part in the Brighton Fringe Festival.
Last year with funding from Enjoolata Foundation, The East Brighton Trust and Sussex Community Foundation Windmill Young Actors were able to run ‘The Crew Club Theatre’ club once a week for young people in Whitehawk.
A parent of one of the participants said that the classes were “The only thing my son will get off a screen for”.
The Christmas performances of Babayaga and Vasila the Brave were both devised and performed by the young people, celebrating the group’s hard work and creativity.
