NT Connections 2017

four Kildare youth theatres present 4 new plays

10th - 12th March 2017 | Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge

Crooked House is delighted to organise this festival of brand new plays, commissioned by the National Theatre in London, and hosted by Riverbank Arts Centre in Newbridge. The youth theatres taking part are Kildare Youth Theatre, Griese Youth Theatre (Ballitore), Ardclough Youth Theatre, and PlayActing Youth Theatre (Celbridge). Each presents their play twice over the weekend, beginning with Griese Youth Theatre and Kildare Youth Theatre on Friday 10th March at 8.00pm.

Kildare Youth Theatre presents Extremism by Anders Lustgarten on Fri 10th at 8pm and Sunday 12th at 6pm. Directed by Peter Hussey, this provocative new work explores how young people are taught to police each other in an age of terror threats and radicalisation. Anders Lustgarten is an internationally renowned political theatre maker from the UK.

Extremism is not suitable for children – contains sexual swear words and references, and acts of violence.

[Length – approximately 45 to 50 minutes]

Griese Youth Theatre presents Zero for the Young Dudes by Alistair McDowall and directed by Dee Burke (Friday 10th at 8pm and Saturday 11th at 7pm).

Ardclough Youth Theatre presents The Snow Dragons by Lizzie Nunnery, directed by Phoebe Ó Leary at 2pm on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th.

Playacting Youth Theatre presents FOMO by Suhayla El-Bushra on Saturday 11th at 7pm and Sunday 12th at 6pm.

All evening shows are a double-bill: one ticket to see both shows. The second show begins 15 to 20 minutes after the first one.

Extremism features the following cast: Cat Coyle, Elliot Nolan, Rebecca Donovan, Ella Darling, Izzy Noone, Charlie Hughes-Farrell, Seán Dowse, Cian Ó Náirigh and Ben McGoohan. Assistant directos are Alice Molony and Anne-Marie Davidson. Sound is by Lee Smith. The cast and crew travel to Belfast on 28th April to perform the play as part of the NT Connections Regional Festival in The Lyric Theatre (on Saturday 29th April).

On Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th February in Newbridge there will be workshops and informal events for all the casts of the plays, to which other youth theatres or young people in the county are invited to attend (in order to do so you must first contact us here at Kildare Youth Theatre in order to register).

All shows are staged in Riverbank and booking is through their website, and by email toinfo@riverbank.ie and phone 045 448327.

For more information about NT Connections, the plays, and the writers, and about how your group can take part next year, visit their website here.