England Under-21 international Marvin Sordell paid a visit to the Octagon in Bolton last week
The 22-year-old took part in an educational workshop with local youth organisations and community groups inspired by the theatre’s recent production of Tull.
Marvin was joined by ex-Manchester City goalkeeper Alex Williams in the audience as they watched an extract from Tull; the tale of real life World War One hero Walter Tull who was a talented officer on the battlefield and the first black outfield player in the First Division of the Football League.
The play has inspired an education programme that tackles racism and uses football as inspiration to address the issues of racism that still exist today.
The performance was followed by a question and answer session that gave the audience the opportunity to ask Marvin and Alex about their experiences of racism whilst Kick It Out representative Keeley Temple was also in attendance, providing an insight into the work that Kick It Out do to address racism within football.
Speaking after the workshop Marvin said:“I was fascinated to find out more about the life of Walter Tull and the challenges he overcame in his life. I was really impressed with the way that the theatre’s staff held this as an education session to educate young people from the region about his story and the issues of racism.”
Marvin was joined by ex-Manchester City goalkeeper Alex Williams in the audience as they watched an extract from Tull; the tale of real life World War One hero Walter Tull who was a talented officer on the battlefield and the first black outfield player in the First Division of the Football League.
The play has inspired an education programme that tackles racism and uses football as inspiration to address the issues of racism that still exist today.
The performance was followed by a question and answer session that gave the audience the opportunity to ask Marvin and Alex about their experiences of racism whilst Kick It Out representative Keeley Temple was also in attendance, providing an insight into the work that Kick It Out do to address racism within football.
Speaking after the workshop Marvin said:“I was fascinated to find out more about the life of Walter Tull and the challenges he overcame in his life. I was really impressed with the way that the theatre’s staff held this as an education session to educate young people from the region about his story and the issues of racism.”
The event was also attended by the Mayor and Mayoress of Bolton and was preceded by a speech from David Thacker, artistic director at the Octagon, about the resonance of the theatre’s latest production.