Stay Alive by Jocelyn Woolgar-Jones

On the 17th of November a drama group came to Rainford College to educate the year twelve and thirteen students on the dangers of not driving safely. There were only three actors but they used their dramatic expertise to play a number of entertaining characters. The play revolved around three best friends; Gemma, Matt and Louise.

We were introduced to Matt who had a crush on Louise, but she only agreed to go out with him when he got a car and when she thought he had matured. They went on a date and everything was going well until Louise realised she was going to be late home. Matt, wanting to impress, her started to drive her home rapidly. In doing this he broke the speed limit by 50mph and they crashed. Louise was not wearing her seat belt and died at the scene. Matt survived.

If Matt hadn’t of made that small decision he would have spared the life of his new girlfriend and the hurt caused to her friends and family. Matt’s sentence was 12 months in prison, a criminal record and a four year driving ban. He destroyed the rest of his life and the lives of many people around him.

The actors adapted the language used by young adults so the audience could relate to the characters better. This short play was designed to make years twelve and thirteen stop and think when making small decisions that could ultimately result in grave consequences.