I, Bhavik Parmar am an Education Officer at Birmingham Repertory Theatre and at the heart of my practice is the belief that every child is creative in extraordinary ways and only requires a spark of opportunity to awaken their talent. I believe too often does parental influence and engagement with the arts, hinder and limit young people’s participation within the arts. Before my Artists’ Research trip to South Africa I intended to focus on how parental and family involvement in arts projects can be the key to ensure TYA is reflective of the society we live in today. During the trip itself I watched 16 different TYA performances for a range of ages but I was most intrigued by the work for early years and the way in which audience participation was crucial element in this work.
