Message theatre company In Yer Face are bringing a groundbreaking new show to Greater Manchester high schools this spring.

‘The Rough Guide To Staying Alive’ is a new interactive performance which works as a hard-hitting guide to drugs, sexual health, relationships, peer influence and crime.

‘The show pushes the boundaries of what theatre is and what it can mean for young people,’ comments the show’s writer and cast member Matt Britton. ‘It stares its audience in the face challenging them to be a part of the drama and a part of the solution.’

The performance is structured as three separate stories which intertwine to become one whole story, exploring issues relevant to healthy life development and citizenship.

The audience is constantly invited to bring their own thinking into the issues raised, with specific breaks in the narrative to enable this to happen. This process creates a safe environment for students to explore their own behaviour and choices and acts as a catalyst for promoting personal development and change.

New In Yer Face actor Emily Lawson joins Matt Britton and Brenda Noble in the three-strong cast.

Find out more about In Yer Face

The Message’s theatre company In Yer Face reword UCB’s daily devotional ‘Word for Today’ for a younger audience, and also narrate the UCB Radio version and podcast.

Team leader Matt Britton comments, ‘One of the things we at In Yer Face love doing is writing Bible studies for young people…we also have a lot of fun recording them for UCB Radio, so that people can listen on the move’.

Around 500,000 issues of Word 4u 2day are produced each year, making its way into the hands of an estimated 120,000 young people. The quarterly devotional is available in English (delivered in the UK, Ireland and Australia), Portuguese (Portugal) and Filipino (The Philippines).

Read today’s Word 4U 2Day.

Sign up to receive a printed version of Word 4U 2Day in the post.

Subscribe to the Word 4U 2Day podcast.

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Stephanie North was presented with the Urban Hero of the Year Award by Awards sponsor Brian Souter (Stagecoach), at an event hosted by city youth charity The Message Trust. Earlier in the evening Steph had also been announced winner of the Courage Award.

See more pictures from the night here.

Local dignitaries including Chief Constable of GMP Peter Fahy, Rt Hon Hazel Blears, local councillors and several hundred business people including ‘Secret Millionaire’ Chek Whyte gathered to honour young achievers from Manchester who have made a difference to their communities across the city. Each award winner has overcome serious obstacles – drug addiction, tough backgrounds, and in Steph’s case, violent bullying – to emerge as a hero.

Back in 2008, Steph began hanging around with a new group of friends. Though they had seemed friendly to begin with, they began to change and one night turned on Steph and violently attacked her, breaking her nose and leaving her with two black eyes. The police were involved and charges were made.

Steph was encouraged by her youth workers to stand up and tell the truth. She chose to pursue justice to make sure it wouldn’t happen again to others. Steph took her attackers to court, despite a lot of intimidation from others in the community. ‘To do that when people know where you live is really hard,’ explains Openshaw community worker Pete Askew. ‘In communities where crime is high, the only thing that can make a difference sometimes is to say “No, we’re not willing to say nothing… we’re going to speak out against what’s happened.”

‘It’s been really quite a tough thing – she’s not the sort of person who normally mouths off at people so it’s taken a lot of courage to do that and that’s why we think she’s well deserving of this award.’

Like Steph, all of the Urban Hero Award winners have been directly impacted by The Message Trust’s work in schools, communities and prisons across Greater Manchester.

Congratulations to all our 2009 Urban Heroes:

The Volunteer Award

Allan Cocking (pictured with Mick Spratt, Award Sponsor).

Watch his nomination video in our Media Player.

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The Courage Award

Steph North (pictured with Gordon Haynes, Award Sponsor)

Watch her nomination video in our Media Player.

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The Champion Award

Bob Foster (pictured with his family)

Watch his nomination video in our Media Player.

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The Inspiration Award

Naomi Buckley (pictured with Award Sponsor Paul Nadin)

Watch her nomination video in our Media Player.

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The Achiever Award

Mohammed Timbo (pictured with Award Sponsor Chek Whyte)

Watch his nomination video in our Media Player.

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The event featured live performances from LZ7, Blush, Twelve24 and theatre company In Yer Face.

Thanks to everyone who came along to make the Urban Hero Awards 09 such a special occasion, particularly our sponsors and everyone who donated on the night.

If you would like to get involved with helping future ‘Urban Heroes’ discover their potential, please consider bidding for a unique prize in our ‘Best of Manchester’ Auction. All proceeds from this auction of money-can’t-buy experiences will go towards our vital work in schools, communities and prisons.

This summer, The Message is excited to be partnering with Audacious to bring the massive !Audacious conference to Manchester from 3-8 August.

Manchester Central will play host to thousands of young people from across the country, here to soak up six days of passionate praise and worship, stirring teaching from top Bible communicators and the life-transforming presence of God.

But !Audacious ’09 is more than just a conference for young people. It’s a chance for the people of Manchester to see the life-changing power of God in action.

That’s because this year, alongside the conference programme, young delegates will have the chance to show God’s love in action through dozens of targeted social action projects in local communities around Greater Manchester.

On the two afternoons of the 6th and 7th August, delegates will suit up and ship out to serve on community projects across the city. Teams will be transported to local neighbourhoods, equipped and let loose on projects such as cleaning up the local shopping parade, litter picking, scrubbing off graffiti or painting railings.

To register your young people on the conference, visit www.liveaudacious.com or call 0161 830 7000.

To have an ‘A-Team to come to serve your local community (for one or both of the afternoons), download an application form at www.bigdeal.org.uk or call 0161 946 2332.

And don’t miss the massive day of mission ‘Audacious Unleashed’ on Saturday 8 August culminating with the live Unleashed event at Manchester Central, starting at 7.30pm and featuring Message bands LZ7, Blush and Twelve24 , as well as In Yer Face.