Carla Fusciardi Wallace plays the tough and strong-willed Mary Redmond in ‘Forget Me Knot’, a new play by secondary school student Aoife Beaumont Howell.
A GROUP of ambitious secondary school students will take to the stage of Fusion Café Theatre this Friday night with their play ‘Forget Me Knot’, which tells the story of five young girls affected by the 1916 Rising.
The play, which is written by 17-year-old Aoife Beaumont Howell, is based on anecdotes which the young student read in Joe Duffy’s book ‘Children of the Rising’. Taking the historical plot from the book, she created fictional characteristics and personalities in order to show the drastic effect (both long and short term) that the Rising had on five innocent lives.
Aoife said: “The centenary of 1916 has focused on the celebration surrounding the Rising, but it is important not to forget the children of the time, we’re commemorating their lives, we want to make sure they won’t be forgotten and that their stories are made known. We hope to transport you back to 100 years before now and give you a vivid image of what life would have been like for these children.”
The fifth-year student remarked that not only did the group, which is entirely made up of students, get the chance to take their play from starting foundations through to performance but they also got to learn about the ordinary people of a turbulent history.
A live performance from 7th Fret will end the show. 7th Fret is an up-and-coming teenage vocal group in Wexford made up of the lead roles of the Loreto and St. Peter’s College ‘Les Miserables’ production.
Tickets for ‘Forget Me Knot’ are available from Fusion Café and are €7. The show is recommended for those over 12 years of age. The show runs at 8 p.m. in Fusion Café Theatre this Friday.
[Full preview in this week’s Echo]