HideOut hosts touring production and workshop to provide young people with practical strategies to cope with, and handle institution racism.
On Monday 6th February, HideOut Youth Zone welcomed the performance of a brand-new HipHop theatre show, LOOPS, to the Youth Zone.
LOOPS is a new production from Liverpool’s 20 Stories High, co-produced by Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse theatre, which is currently touring schools and local youth groups.
Bursting with heavy beats, beautiful lyricism and raw energy, the show explores police racism, white allyship and is full of Black joy and empowerment, whilst also providing practical strategies on how to deal with ongoing police encounters such as Stop & Search, institutional racism, and understanding the overall impact on individuals and communities.
Over 66% of HideOut’s overall membership identify as Black, Asian or from another ethnic minority background.
One young person who watched the performance said:
“I needed this play. It [Stop & Search] happened to my friend just last week. We see that this [Stop & Search] happens every day. We need to understand that this shouldn’t be happening, and that we are equal”.
To follow the performance, LOOPS Participation Lead, Chantelle Lunt, attended the Youth Zone on Monday 13th February to lead a deep-dive session into learnings from the production the week prior.
Chantelle supported members to explore global, national and local black history, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the importance of empowering activism, whilst also providing young people with practical solutions to handle situations they may come across in everyday life.
Aisha, a Senior Club member who attended the workshop, said:
“Everyone was engaging in the workshop, and I enjoyed it because it showed me more about my culture. Young people got to learn more about their background and how black people are actually being treated which is really important”.
Chantelle said:
“Loops is a play that speaks to the lived experiences of many black and global majority young people. We had powerful feedback from the young people at Hideout Youth Zone who saw the play. The accompanying workshop gave young people information about their rights relating to police searches and the history of Black Civil rights movements locally.”
Chantelle is a former police officer, who, since leaving Merseyside Police, has dedicated her life to campaigning for equal rights. She was the founder of Merseyside Black Lives Matter Alliance.
HideOut prides itself on ensuring its youth provision is inclusive, supports community cohesion, and provides an environment where members from diverse demographics, ethnic communities, and those with additional needs or disabilities feel safe, involved, and welcome.
