More Important Things was a play and road safety resource for young people that explored road safety issues in an interactive way. The show looked at the impact that serious injury and death can have upon the lives of young people, families and friends. It offered the audience input into the story by presenting different options to the problems or issues showcased by the performers as they looked at the dangers and life changing accidents that occur on roads when a busy young teenager is distracted by ‘more important things.’
More Important Things was commissioned by Tower Hamlets Road Safety team, and produced/created by Half Moon.
Half Moon toured More Important Things for Year 5 and 6 classes each year between 2012 and 2018 which included over 250 performances in both Tower Hamlets and Southwark.
Sessions gave children practical opportunities to engage with creative thinking and encourage Year 6s to think safely about using the roads. They were able to access a recording of the specially commissioned play More Important Things to support this programme.
In Autumn 2019 and Spring 2020, Half Moon were funded by the Tower Hamlets Road Safety Team to deliver Road Safety workshops for Year 6 children across more than 35 primary schools in Tower Hamlets.
A Half Moon film commissioned by Tower Hamlets Road Safety.
Thanks to funding from Tower Hamlets Road Safety we were able to create a film of More Important Things in 2013. The film is available as a free resource to highlight the consequences that can occur when we are distracted on the road. The film is designed to open a discussion with young people about road safety and to encourage them to make safer choices when travelling around.
“The pupils really enjoyed the performance. The story was engaging and I think that they related to the characters. Although there were some harrowing moments, I particularly liked the way that the children could ‘rewind’ the story, suggest some different actions that the characters could take and then contribute to an alternative outcome. Pupils were also keen to participate, felt empathy with the characters and were reminded of what is safe behaviour when crossing roads.”
Teacher from Hague Primary
“Pupils really identified with the characters. The fact that the characters were introduced really helped the pupils engage with the play and better understand it. The other themes that the play touched upon also prompted good PHSE/philosophy for children discussions in class including bullying, peer pressure, exclusion and friendships).”
Teacher from St Luke’s Primary
We would like to thank Lisa Inkeri Bloom, Every Child Matters Co-Ordinator and Year 7 students (academic year 2011/12) at Bethnal Green Technology College who worked with the creative team to develop the storyline through a series of workshops; Simon Wickenham of the Metropolitan Police; and Anthony Watson (Stage Manager) and Angela Michaels (Associate Director, Half Moon) who worked on developing the original theatre piece in the R and D phases.
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