Budding actors perform at drama showcase at Portrush Town Hall

The evening’s entertainment began with a light-hearted, poetic performance of the ‘Rhyming Pied Piper of Hamelin’ written Gerald P. Murphy. The Academy’s youngest performers, aged 4-8, delighted family and friends with this creative retelling of a classic tale full of larger than life characters all played to perfection.

The Upper Primary class, aged 9 – 11, continued proceedings as they enraptured the audience with an abstract and highly entertaining performance of ‘First Steps’ by Raymond Blakesley. The play details the untold story of how creatures first left the ocean and moved onto dry land thanks to the

big dreams of one little ‘blob’. Despite the complexity of some of the material, the cast performed their given roles with ease and clear understanding from the big-thinking Arthur to the exasperated Psychoblob.

Last but by no means least, the Youth Theatre class, aged 11 – 18, took to the stage with a thought-provoking rendition of ‘On the Street’ written by Graham Jones. Set on the city streets, the play makes an important commentary on the difficult lives of those young people who have nowhere else

to go and the trials and tribulations of their existence. The strengths of the youth theatre cast were fully conveyed through character work that shone through in each individual’s performance and the perfect cohesion of the ensemble performance that resulted. The cast also dazzled with not just their acting abilities but their skilful stage combat, too.