‘This is a play about the first eighteen years of your life and all the things you may or may not learn in that time […] It’s about how after those eighteen years you’re expected to know certain things, even though there isn’t a class. It’s about how that’s scary, even if you’re prepared. It’s about how lots of people aren’t, not even remotely’
Coburn Gray’s electric new play debuted at the Dublin Theatre Festival 2017; an astonishingly frank, intimate discussion about the complexities of growing up in 21st Century Ireland, the play, devised with the input of teenage members of Dublin Youth Theatre, looks at our individual human need to belong: to feel safe, to feel sheltered, in essence, to feel at home.
The play is experimental in its structure, being composed of a series of vignettes, short scenes ranging from comedic duologues to heartbreaking monologues to ensemble movement and chorus work. Up-and-coming Irish playwright, Coburn Gray has infused his play with both music and movement, in addition to direct audience address, giving the production an undeniably contemporary feel. This is a Room touches on themes of social anxiety and isolation, homelessness and direct provision, first love, family breakdown, mental health, and sexuality.
Shows: Tues 26 Feb – 11.00 (sold out) & 14.00 & 19.00, Weds 27 Feb – 11.00 (sold out), 14.00 (sold out)
Venue: Dance Limerick
Ticket: 10 euros (5 euros concession) on the door for evening performance only or book on https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/this-is-a-room-by-dylan-coburn-gray-tickets-56103392758
