NUIG drama students put women in the spotlight

A new initiative to stage the work of Irish women playwrights and theatre-makers, past and present, as well as to provide strong roles for female performers is currently underway at NUI, Galway.

Led by students of the Drama and Theatre Studies programme, and supported by NUIG’s Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance, the initiative has been inspired by the recent #Wakingthefeminists movement.

The first write to feature will be Lady Augusta Gregory whose drama Gráinne, directed by Justine Nakase, will be staged at the NUIG Bank of Ireland Theatre at 8pm this Thursday and Friday night.

The #wakingthefeministswest season, which will run until May, particularly seeks to highlight a diverse range of female voices from the west of Ireland. It will include theatre, dance, devised work; drama from the archive and offerings from new and emerging writers.

#wakingthefeministswest is being led by Drama and Theatre Studies PhD students Justine Nakase and Nelson Barre, and involves participation from students from first-year to PhD level, as well as from staff.

Nakase and Barre are interested in “excavating historic women’s voices and elevating contemporary ones” and hope that this programme will rebut the argument that women’s lack of representation in theatre as playwrights, among other roles, is due to a “lack of female talent”.

The season will continue on February 8 and 9 with 100 Shades of Grey, devised by the ensemble, directed by Charlotte McIvor. It will be staged in the Bank of Ireland Theatre at 8pm nightly.

Meanwhile, Mount Prospect, written by Elizabeth Connor and directed by Ciara O’Dowd and Thomas Conway, Druid Director-in-Residence, will be at the Town Hall Studio Theatre on February 25 and 26, at 830pm

Further productions will be announced in February.

For further information on the programme or ticket reservation, contact wakingthefeministswest@gmail.com.