‘Back In The Day’ Youth Theatre Experience
Members of our Ross-On-Wye Youth Theatre group have written blog posts about their experience of working on a play that was performed in The Courtyard’s studio…
Ella’s experience
I’m Ella Boswell, and we have just wrapped up our latest show, Back in the Day, at The Courtyard and The Phoenix. Honestly? It was such an amazing time.
I played Taz, and bringing her to life was the best. Back in the Day is a one-act play about a group of school kids—Taz, Sam, Marni, and Remy—who all lead very different lives that no one truly knows about, featuring themes of mental health. Their teacher, Miss Bailey, picks Taz to be a mental health ambassador, tasking her with asking people “How are you?”—though that doesn’t exactly go over well. Throughout the play, the group deals with “Inner Monologue” voices in their heads that make them feel worthless.
While discussing how students can open up, the group hits on the subject of a roller disco, and Taz gets the idea to surprise Miss Bailey with one. Miss Bailey initially declines the idea of skating backwards because of an “urban myth,” but after some consideration, they all decide to skate backwards three times… and it turns out they end up back in time to 1987!
After some thought, they decide to stay a while to explore the different lifestyle and colorful, stylish clothes, eventually opening up about their problems and sparking stronger friendships- with tangible nice moments. The group feels like new people exploring 1987, but they ultimately agree to go “back to the future.” Once they return, they realize they don’t need to go back again because everything they need is right here. My favorite part was definitely trying to get my roller skates off in time; I succeeded, but I whacked myself in the face with them instead! Seeing the show go from rehearsals to the actual stage happened so fast.
Rehearsals were chaotic in the best way. We spent half our time trying to be serious and the other half dying of laughter. My castmate Eleri, who played Sam, was always laughing randomly; since my character has a very serious “I don’t care” attitude, it was hard to keep it together! We basically lived off lemon sherbets, mini eggs, and tortilla crisps just to make it through the blocking.
Performing at two different venues felt like being a pro on a world tour, even if we were only driving 20 minutes between them. The Phoenix was totally different from The Courtyard—I swear the floor at The Courtyard was so slippery to skate on—but it was such a rush. I learned that I’m actually decent at keeping it together when I want to (and maybe alright at roller skating), and that teamwork is the only reason I didn’t accidentally skate backwards and fall during the transitions.
Looking back, I’m most proud of that final performance where we finally nailed the end scenes, including our favorite 80s dance routine to “Baby Give It Up” and “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” and the fact that the cast did an incredible job in the show. It felt like everything just clicked. Huge thanks to everyone who came to see us—you guys were a great crowd! And many thanks to our fabulous director, Becky!
Lottie’s experience
I am Lottie Lockwood and I was Marni in our production of Back In The Day at the Courtyard and the Phoenix. It was one of the best things I have ever experienced ever. Honestly, the way our cast just clicked and by the end of it we were such a great team! Whilst I was performing as Marni, I learnt a lot of things. Things like it feels really good to make people smile! 
Back In The Day was a one-act show that included four school kids- Taz, Remy, Sam and Marni, and a teacher (Miss Bailey), who all take a surprise adventure back to 1987 via an old rollar disco. Whilst they were there, lots of events took place, such as seeing Miss Bailey’s favourite TV show, Go Go Saturday, and seeing Miss Bailey’s younger self and her mum. Taz, Remy, Sam, Marni and Miss Bailey all went on a journey of self-discovery whilst they were back in time. Once they are back in good old 2026, they realise that they don’t need to go back because everything they need is right here. My favourite experience during our time putting this show on was definitely connecting with my fellow cast members! Laurence (one of the band members and ensemble) taught me how to throw a rugby ball by using custard creams, I ate a lot of lemon sherbets and we sang a lot of songs. Our first tech rehearsal didn’t go as well as we hoped but we had perfected it by the last night! We all did absolutely amazing and I am so proud of all of us! The audience were so supportive and thank you too all of the parents and our amazing teacher Becky, sacrificed so much to help put this show on! The run-throughs were organised chaos! During the most serious scenes, Eleri (Sam) got the giggles and we had to hold it together and try not to lose it!! Honestly though, performing and rehearsing Back In The Day has been some of the greatest times of my life. I would do it all again in a heartbeat. Thank you so so much to everyone that help put this show on, we couldn’t have done it without you!