Young people from across the country come to Kilkenny for the National Festival of Youth Theatres.
Around one hundred and twenty or so young people were drawn to Kilkenny from youth theatres up and down the country. Workshops enabled participants to exchange and explore ideas, compare performances and delve into their imaginations. The young people taking part are challenged to create theatre, characters and costumes using bin bags.
What kind of drama can come from these bin bags?
Artistic director Paddy Grant says that personal development through the use of drama is an important part of festival activities. Many young people use drama to express themselves in ways that they have never done before. Participants also take the experience of working collectively at the NFYT back to their own drama groups.
All the shows use imagination as a main ingredient.
Another workshop explores the use of sound to stimulate theatrical images.
What these young people learn, they'll bring back to the other young people of their community's youth theatre.
Paddy O'Dwyer, the founder of the Dublin Youth Theatre, says that people have artistic ability which needs an outlet for expression. He believes that drama is accessible to all and allows people to express themselves without any aids, equipment or skills.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 18 July 1993. The reporter is Michael Ryan and the piece is introduced by Eileen Magnier.
