Theatre used to promote responsible drinking to young people

Last month educational theatre was used to try and promote responsible drinking to young people with visits to Drummond Community High School, Royal High School, Craigmount High School and Castlebrae Community High School in the capital.

The programme is called Smashed Live and used powerful live theatre to warn against the dangers of underage drinking with interactive workshops and discussion afterwards.

Collingwood Learning led the theatrical initiative which was sponsored by Diageo.

The hope is that students would be equipped to deal with peer pressure and make informed choices.

Gillian Dalziel, UK Programme Manager, Diageo Learning for Life – a leading hospitality employability scheme for young people – commented: “Educating pupils on the dangers of underage drinking is crucial to encouraging responsible drinking from a young age. We hope that by offering these creative and engaging sessions pupils will be equipped with the facts and confidence to make the right choices when it comes to alcohol consumption.

“Diageo is dedicated to promoting responsible drinking and has been a proud supporter of the project since it launched in 2005 and we welcome its rollout in Scotland, with the vision of breaking the culture of underage drinking and reducing alcohol related harm amongst young people.”

The Smashed Project tours the UK every year, reaching more than 90 schools and 20,000 young people. The programme has been endorsed by the UK government and was recently recognised at a parliamentary reception at the House of Commons. Globally, it is delivered in 15 countries and reached over 250,000 young people on six continents.