Case Study:
Message Not Delivered
Overview of the approach
Message Not Delivered is an
interactive drama highlighting the
dangers of using mobile phones
while driving. Produced by the
New Vic Borderlines in partnership
with Staffordshire Fire and Rescue
and Staffordshire Police and
toured around schools in the
West Midlands, Staffordshire and
Cheshire, the drama tells the story
of a group of friends involved in a
collision, with real (live) inputs from
professionals from fire, police and
ambulance services as well as the
family and friends of real-life crash
victims. Both the legal and personal
implications of using a mobile
phone while driving are highlighted.
The production is taken to schools, and uses theatre-style lighting and stage props.
After each performance, students (aged 13-18) take part in workshops and interact with scenes, identifying how the
characters might have behaved differently and generated different outcomes. These workshops are facilitated by
a New Vic Borderlines Practitioner, but are also assisted by those involved in the production. Part of the production
involves asking students to think about three things they would like to do, see or experience in the future.
Subsequent discussion focuses on how those ambitions would not be possible if those consequences outlined
during the production were experienced by them as individuals.
Mobile:Engaged contribution
Knowledge Exchange
We had two initial meetings with the Message Not Delivered (MND) team to help us understand the approach
and how we might be able to help out with the development of the approach for a new tour planned for later
in the year. We then observed the play being delivered in a local school, before holding a KEC (Knowledge
Exchange Consultation) with members of the Message Not Delivered team. Many of the following points are
transferable to other kinds of live intervention experience.
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