A THEATRE project will be performing the premiere of its new work in Bournemouth, before taking the production to the Indian Himalayas.

The Yak Pak Theatre Project visited India with a specially-written play during the summer of 2018, as part of its Theatre in Education project, sharing the work with more than 1,850 schoolchildren, families and the special needs community in the isolated Spiti Valley.

In 18 months, the two families who set up the project will be returning to Spiti to host story-telling performances of Rubbish Heap Rising, encouraging children to read books and running workshops in partnership with local educators to help their teachers start reading aloud to them in class.

The first half of the project will concentrate on school performances and teachers' workshops. The group will then will travel through the mountainous region with yaks and donkeys to reach the more remote villages, using the journeys to help clean litter from trekking routes. Local children will be able to join up-cycling workshops to turn discarded litter into props for the show.

The idea has been shaped by Yak Pak Theatre's Ben Lindsey-Clark, who has a background as an actor and teacher.

He said: “Local people in the Himalayas asked us to perform a story exploring the problem of plastic pollution, and the specially written story “Rubbish Heap Rising” does just that, as well as celebrating the value of friendship and community. It’s an interactive story which uses sound effects, music, scenery, and a few special characters all created by audience participation.”

Yak Pak Theatre Project is now seeking funding for the scheme, and will kick off the campaign with the premiere performance of Rubbish Heap Rising at the Naked Coffee Deli in Bournemouth on Sunday, December 22 from 3.30pm to 5.30pm, as part of Bournemouth's Living Advent Calendar.

To donate to The Yak Pack Theatre Project, visit yakpack.wixsite.com/yakpack/donate

£8 will pay for one schoolchild to attend a performance, £25 will sponsor a yak and a guide for one day, while £250 can fund an entire school performance.