Half Moon gets Speech Bubbles drama cash to help East End kids listen

Young members of the famous Half Moon children’s theatre in London’s East End were over the moon when they were given a cheque for £9,500 from a City of London livery company.

The cheque is for the theatre’s Speech Bubbles year-long programme in six local primary schools.

It was presented to children from Half Moon’s Eclipse youth theatre by the Ironmongers’ Company and St James’s Place charity foundation.

“This cash means we can make sure children reach their true potential at the beginning of their education,” said Half Moon’s director Chris Elwell.

Speech Bubbles is a programme using drama to help children aged five to seven develop their speaking, listening and attention skills.

It also includes training a teacher in how to run group creative activity at the school after the project ends.

The project was developed by the London Bubble Theatre Company which had a successful run in several schools in Southwark.

The Half Moon in Limehouse has been selected as their partner to run it in six Tower Hamlets schools for a year—Mayflower, John Scurr, St Peter’s London Docks, Bonner Mile End and Bethnal Green and St Matthias.

St. James’s Place foundation has given £34 million to good causes over the last 22 years.