Side By Side’s international debut at Platengymnasiet College in Motala, Sweden in May 2007 was, for all involved in this venture, a resounding success. Twelve months of careful planning, preparation and fund raising and more e-mails than we care to mention between Sweden and ourselves, resulted in a faultless enterprise and a collaboration which brought about one of the most remarkable, emotional and above all rewarding events of our lives.
From the performance point of view the actors were, as always, disciplined and professional, giving energy and passion to their parts, unfazed by being thousands of miles from home in a foreign country. The support team, equally as disciplined and focused, helped to create three wonderful shows which were received with overwhelming enthusiasm and standing ovations from the Swedish audiences. Staff and students at Platengymnasiet College were so welcoming and did everything possible to make our stay an enriching and mutually rewarding experience.
For the Special Needs Department at Platengymnasiet it raised their profile, made them more visible and gave them inspiration and new ideas to develop their programme. For the
Side By Side Theatre Group it added to their continuing development of working as a professional, touring theatre company, with all the social skills, growing confidence and independence that that involves and it showed them that in other countries there are people like them learning in a college and working towards aspirations and goals, and a greater sense of self-worth. And there was a lot of love during that week. One of lecturer Frank Andersson’s students’ summed it up in this way – "Sometimes I like the world, sometimes I don’t. This week I have liked the world because you were here."
Worlds Apart in Sweden Brings Worlds Together
