In cooperation with Anne-Frank-Gesamtschule Dortmund, AfricanTide carried out the theatre project “Straight from the Heart” over a period of around six months. The project involved 22 pupils from Years 5 and 6, aged 10 to 13, and took place during afternoon lessons with support from the class teacher.

As the children had no previous theatre experience, the actor Mr. Sulaimon first introduced them to theatre through exercises focusing on body awareness, concentration, and group interaction. This preparatory phase lasted around 16 hours and was particularly important because seven of the participating children had special educational needs related to emotional and social development.

The children then explored the themes of diversity and multicultural coexistence, which reflected their everyday school lives. Using drawings, improvisation, discussions, and text work, they developed ideas for the play and learned to express more complex thoughts creatively.

The project strengthened the children’s self-confidence, creativity, teamwork, and social skills, while also encouraging intercultural understanding and active participation. It was successfully completed in October 2012 and demonstrated the value of theatre as an inclusive educational tool. A continuation of the project would have allowed even more students to benefit from this experience.