Eighteen months after getting her ME diagnosis and then moving back home to Sheffield, Megan Young has spread her wings to set up an after-school drama school in nearby Dronfield.
“I’ve always loved theatre but years of feeling exhausted always seemed to get in the way of me enjoying my passion in the way I wanted”, said Megan, who is on the brink of staging the school’s first-ever show at the Dronfield Henry Fanshawe School.
The 25-year-old had been working in Edinburgh as a social media manager and was struggling to keep up. It wasn’t the job that was letting her down – but her own body.
“I was incapable of doing pretty much after a day of being sat in an office and I couldn’t understand why. Everyone else seemed capable of doing it all and I could not. I was so distraught.”
So she took the decision to move home to be closer to her family and friends and, when the time felt right, set up her own drama school in Dronfield, the town where she was brought up. She has called the school The Miniver Academy and held the first session last September.
It's since branched out into three classes, performed at local Christmas markets and the students are now busy rehearsing for their first production, ‘Away With The Fairies’. This will be held at the school in Dronfield on 10th and 11th February (if you’d like details, click to enlarge the flyer below).
“It’s a leap of faith for me but the students are unbelievably talented and I’m the happiest I have ever been.”
To give a flavour of the show, it’s full of fantasy, fairy tale fun and youthful energy. The fairy godmothers at Away With The Fairies HQ want to get their wish request business back on track following a rather unpleasant incident when a prince turned into a slimy toad…
Megan – no relation to London stage school supremo Sylvia Young – has written the show and directs. The stage manager is Julie Ballin. Tickets for the show are £5 each.
The Henry Fanshawe School is at Green Lane, Dronfield, S18 2FZ. Miniver Academy is a local after-school drama club for children and young people. The students meet weekly at the Peel Centre in Dronfield and they love having fun with drama and putting on entertaining productions.
Follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @miniveracademy
Tony Britton
Senior Fundraising Consultant, The ME Association
tony.britton@meassociation.org.uk Mob: 07393 805566
