Clare youths search for Shakespeare through theatre

MEMBERS of Clare Youth Theatre are bringing Shakespeare into contemporary relevance with their latest productions, Searching for Shakespeare and Roses in Winter. The two plays will be staged at Cois na hAbhna Cultural Centre, Ennis this Friday and Saturday night.

The cast comprises over 30 young people from all over Clare and, together with their director Eleanor Feely and assistant Nathalie Leahy, they have been working hard since last September creating the storylines, developing the themes, creating the characters, designing the costumes, choosing the music and learning specialist skills to create what Shakespeare called “rough magic”.
The first piece, Searching for Shakespeare concerns a motley crew of Shakespeare’s immortal characters colliding with the modern world. Romeo, Juliet, the Nurse, Rosaline, Antonio, Bassanio, Mercutio, Portia, Shylock, Hamlet, King Lear, the Fool, Edmund, Goneril and the famous witches find themselves in a basketball court and a comedy of errors ensues.
Roses in Winter was originally created by Eleanor Feely in an award-winning production with Wexford Youth Theatre. In this instance, the cast have adapted the story and made it their own. It is set on a derelict site on the edge of a city and concerns the meaning and finding of hope in a world where truth can be manipulated.
Clare Youth Theatre is an initiative of the County Arts Office and has several successful productions under its belt since its inception in 2006.
Eleanor explained that, on the surface, these productions are about introducing Shakespeare to young people in a way that is relevant to them.
“But, to be honest, this is about so much more than acting and staging a show. The social development that it enhances is of huge importance. We place a huge emphasis on the group’s creative skills. We assist them to bring the show to production stage, essentially by equipping them with the necessary skills to do that,” she said.
She acknowledged the wealth of talent in the group. “Some of this group are really talented and I would definitely say that any one of them could be on the stage of the Abbey Theatre. It surprised me that they weren’t fazed at all by going on stage,” the director added.
Eleanor is an actress by profession and trained with the In Focus Theatre. She has worked in all of the Dublin theatres and has had roles in film and TV, including Glenroe, Fair City and in Remington Steele, opposite Pierce Brosnan. She has also worked with prisoners in Mountjoy on a production entitled On the Outside and On the Inside. She has also been the artist in residence in St Joseph’s Hospital, Ennis.
The shows this Friday and Saturday night are open to the public. Tickets are available from 065 6824276.