NUI Galway's Drama and Theatre Studies presents the world premiere production of a new adaptation of Frank Wedekind's classic groundbreaking 19th century coming-of-age play "Spring Awakening." In this video, director and Lecturer in Drama and Theatre Studies Dr. Charlotte McIvor talks about the process of creating "Transitions: A Spring Awakening Play" and the decision to adapt the play in 2019.
"Transitions: A Spring Awakening Play" transposes the action of the play to a contemporary Irish context and follows three young people, Dougie, Alex and Clara, and their immediate circle of friends and family during an eventful spring. The pressures of academic study and sexual discovery overwhelm these three friends’ ability to navigate the challenging circumstances that they each find themselves in leading to individual and collective tragedy. Has Ireland come as far as we think we have? How should we understand the ongoing mental health crisis among young people? And if someone commits an unforgivable act, how should their story end?
Devised entirely by Third Year Drama and Theatre Studies students, and directed by Dr. Charlotte McIvor with movement direction by Jérèmie Cyr-Cooke, "Transitions: A Spring Awakening Play" tests the boundaries between the real world, our imagination, and somewhere beyond while asking what it means to face up the issues which define young people's discovery of self over generations.
