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Sat 9.00am - 6.00pm
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11.00am - 5pm
Cockshutt Hill Students Haunt Great Western Arcade
Students from the drama department at Birmingham’s Cockshut Hill Technology College made Birmingham shoppers stop in their tracks last Saturday with their Halloween Ghost Walk event at the Great Western Arcade.
Specially conceived for the arcade and based on its 134 year history, 10 lost souls were created and played by the students and randomly appeared on Saturday 31 October.
David Harper, head of drama for Cockshut Hill Technology College, said: “As well as being a great drama project for our students and meeting many of the requirements and vocational aspects of the syllabus, it has also given them the chance to learn more about the history of Birmingham’s city centre. We researched the area and the kind of people who would have lived and worked here to give us inspiration for the characters.
“All the ghosts and scripted monologues were created by the group who all really enjoyed bringing to life last Saturday and helping shoppers and visitors to the arcade really get into the true spirit of Halloween.”
Gay Faulkner, centre manager for the Great Western Arcade, said: “We wanted to celebrate Halloween by reflecting on the history of this area of the city and the students have based their ghost characters on the kind of people who would have lived and worked in and around the arcade and the railway all those years ago, specifically during the late Victorian era and World War II when the arcade was bombed.
“We’re always keen to work with local young people and we’re delighted with our first Great Western Arcade Ghost Walk event and hope to repeat it in 2010.”
The students are all undertaking the BTEC Diploma in Performing Arts course at Cockshut Hill Technology College. Some of the ghost characters being portrayed included a young couple from Victorian times killed by a horse drawn carriage on their way to obtain their parents’ blessing for their wedding, a boy evacuee still searching for his parents at the station and a penniless girl who died from the cold.
The Great Western Arcade specialises in providing an independent and unusual retail offer for Birmingham shoppers. Originally built in 1875, it is located in Birmingham City Centre between Snow Hill Railway Station and the Bullring shopping centre. For more information on the arcade and its retailers visit www.greatwesternarcade.co.uk
