Sirius students to stage new play for National Theatres Connections Festiv

[25 Feb 2013]

“Ladies and gentlemen the performance is about to begin, could I ask you all to please turn ON your mobile phones…”

Sirius students will be performing ‘Mobile Phone Show’ an exciting new play by acclaimed playwright Jim Cartwright as part of the National Theatre’s Connections Festival. The play will be staged at the Academy on Wednesday 13th, Thursday 14th and Friday 15th March (times vary) to be followed by a performance at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough on 17th April 2013.

Connections is the National Theatre’s prestigious youth theatre festival which annually commissions ten established playwrights to write ten brand-new plays for young actors to perform. Sirius is one of only 200 youth companies around the country who were chosen to take part and may even be lucky enough to perform the play at the National Theatre in London later in the year. A director from the National Theatre and the Festival director at the Stephen Joseph Theatre will be coming to the Academy to watch the Friday performance and will give the student’s feedback on their performance before they take the show ‘on tour’.

Thirty students at Sirius formed their own theatre company ‘Interstellar’ to produce ‘Mobile Phone Show’ a vibrant new work by multi-award winning playwright Jim Cartwright (most famous for ‘The Rise and Fall of Little Voice’). The play portrays the chaotic babble of communication between a lively chorus of mobile phone obsessed young people and explores how mobile phones have completely revolutionised our lives and our world. Jim Cartwright describes his new work as ‘a communication cacophony, a fully charged-up chorus line of chaos in a rhapsody of rap, text, tweet and gabble’.

Mrs Quillin, who is directing the lively ensemble of students from Years 8 to 12 said “I am delighted that the cast have fully embraced the challenges of exploring such uncharted territory: the world of a brand-new play. The students have embarked on a very special creative journey together and have produced a play which is fast-paced, visually enthralling and at times very touching.” Members of the company have been involved in the whole theatre-making process taking on a variety of backstage roles including operating the lights and sound and undertaking stage management responsibilities.

To book now to see Sirius students perform ‘Mobile Phone Show’ in the Main Hall from 13th to 15th March e-mail [email protected] or call 01482 352939.

Performance times are:

Wednesday 13th March at 5.00pm

Thursday 14th March at 4.30pm and 7.00pm

Friday 15th March at 4.30pm

Tickets are also on sale in the Heartspace every break and lunchtime and cost £2 (or £1 for children or unwaged)

For more information about National Theatre Connections visit www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/connections.

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