 | | Youth - and experience | |
 |  | | THIS STORY LAST UPDATED:
24 February 2003 1518 GMT
Three new plays and two rarely seen European classics, form the heart of a bold season of work for the Old Vic's Youth Theatre this March. | | Bristol Old Vic Theatre | | | |
| | The theatre's new artistic directors, David Farr and Simon Reade, are hoping to broaden the Old Vic's repertoire by using the talents of younger members of the company this season.
Work includes Bruckner's Pains of Youth and Ibsen's League of Youth.
The theatre's youth group meets weekly during term time and has a huge range in the age of its members, from seven to 20 years old.
It aims to "foster individual creativity and talent in an environment that values and promotes collaborative, ensemble work."
And members of the group are often seen popping up in mainstream Old Vic productions as well as the youth group's own shows.
New season
This latest season of work, which brings the Youth Theatre to the New Vic Studio, runs from the 13th - 29th March.
It begins on Thursday March 13th with Pains of Youth, written by Ferdinard Bruckner in 1926.
Directed by Sally Cookson, this is the story of seven young people living in a boarding house in Vienna just after the First World War.
In contract Eclipse, which runs from 14th - 15th March, brings the pressures of youth up to date, with the story of six young people exploring the boundaries of their own behaviour during the total eclipse in 1999.
Back in time more than a century for the youngsters' third show, with Henrik Ibsen's League of Youth.
Set in a market town in Norway it follows the loves and ambitions of a young liberal politician, with erratic principles and ever-changing loyalties.
League of Youth runs from the 19th until the 21st March.
Double-bill
Finishing up the season from the 27th - 29th March is a modern double bill.
David Farr's farcical comedy The Queen Must Die stars seven teenagers and a giant papier mache bust of the Queen.
The Ice Palace meanwhile is set in a remote village at the beginning of winter and tells of the friendship between a young girl and a mysterious orphan.
Project Myrtle
Meanwhile, a schools project for youngsters, run by the Old Vic, enters its fifth year in 2003 and continues going from strength to strength.
Project Myrtle, in collaboration with The Primary Care Trust, is a unique and innovative educational project touring local primary schools in Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset.
The project, set up in 1998, aims to deliver meaningful drugs education through theatrical performance and participatory workshops.
The project has so far toured to 260 schools and has been received by nearly 20,000 children. It runs until 3 April.
| |
|
|
|  | | You are in:
:: Going Out | | | | | :: Talk Bristol
Do you have a view on this story? Why not tell the rest of Bristol on BBC Bristol's very own chat forum, Talk Bristol. |
| | :: Live today
Exclusive live streaming and on-demand clips from the website that loves Bristol | | :: Get in touch
If you want to get in touch with us, then send us an e-mail:
bristol@bbc.co.uk |
|  |
|
