TY Drama - A Midsummer Night's Dream (with a twist)

Rehearsals are well under way for this year’s Transition Year production of a Mid Summer Nights’s Dream (with a twist) with over 50 students taking to the stage under the watchful eye of directors Ann Blake and Niamh Bowen.

A Mid Summer Night’s Dream is a tale of two worlds, of fairies and humans. In Ann Blake and Marie Boylan’s re-write of this classic Shakespearean play, the fairy world is viewed through the folklore of Ireland, where the Irish fairies trick and fool the royal Athenians in a fun and fast paced comedy of mistaken identity, marital discord, and pure tomfoolery.

Our Transition Year show this year, will be staged in the exquisite surroundings of Dance Limerick, a repurposed church set in the architectural beauty of Limerick’s Georgian Square - St. John's Square.

This play brings music and magic, comedy and crazy, to the stage, showcasing the best of transition year talent, accompanied by live music and stunning costumes and props, all bespoke for this show. 

Performance dates are Wednesday January 16^th and Thursday January 17^th 2019.

Show starts at 8pm.

Tickets are available from the school office 061- 451447. Adults €15 / Students €10.

TY Drama - Not so Grimm Tales

Rehearsals are well underway for this year’s TY Drama Production ‘Not so Grimm Tales' which will see over 40 students take to the stage in the beautiful surroundings of St. Mary's Cathedral. 

Not so Grimm Tales is a hilarious tongue-in-cheek retelling of classic Grimm fairy tales that feels fresh and contemporary! A working mother notices her daughter has picked up some not-so-great lessons from the fairy tales she been reading, so she sits her down and tells her new, more modern and empowering versions of some of the classics.

Directed by Ann Blake and Niamh Bowen, Not so Grimm Tales will be brought to the stage by Villiers Transition Year students performing and working on many aspects of production.

The play runs for two nights on Monday May 14th and Tuesday May 15th at 8pm in St. Mary's Cathedral, Limerick.

                 Tickets are available from School Reception  Adult €10, Student €8

TY Drama - Our Town

 Villiers School presents ‘Our Town’

Rehearsals are well underway for this year’s TY Drama Production ‘Our Town’ which will see over 80 students take to the Lime Tree stage in a classic play by Thornton Wilder.

It’s a day just like any other, and the townsfolk of Grover’s Corner get on with their daily routines; Howie Newsome delivers the milk with Bessie, his trusted horse, Joe Crowell does his newspaper round, the school children finish their homework just in time for school, and Simon Stimpson is preparing for an evening’s rehearsal with the town choir. It’s just like any other ordinary day in Grover’s Corner.  Two families, the Gibbs and the Webbs, living in adjacent houses, are the focus of the play.  However, underlying the everyday events of their lives – marriages, births, and deaths – is a hope for something more, a transcendental experience unique to the human condition. ‘Our Town’ is a play in three acts that follows the lives of George and Emily as they transition from childhood to adulthood. Both heartwarming and groundbreaking, Wilder’s ‘all American play’ is a classic that will have the audience both laughing and crying.

Directed by Ann Blake and Niamh Bowen, Our Town will be brought to the stage by Villiers Transition Year students performing and working on all aspects of production.

Director, Ann Blake stated, “This is a unique and wonderful opportunity for Transition Year students, who experience all aspects of production through mentorship and apprenticeship. I’m particularly excited about this year’s show! I would have loved an opportunity like this when I was in Transition Year.”

Co-director Niamh Bowen is equally enthused, “They are a great group to work with, this year’s show is going to offer audiences a unique experience!’

The play runs for two nights on Thursday February 2nd and Friday February 3rd at 8pm in The Lime Tree Theatre, Limerick.

Tickets are available from School Reception 061 -451 447 and from the

Lime Tree Box Office 061 – 953400 and at www.limetree.ie

Adult €15, Concession €10

TY Drama - The Beggar's Opera

Villiers School presents ‘The Beggar’s Opera’

Rehearsals are well underway for this year's TY Drama Production ‘The Beggar’s Opera’ which will see over 50 students take to the Belltable stage in a classic play by John Gay which has been adapted by Darren Maher and former Villiers student Maeve Stone.

Macheath, outlaw and regular of Newgate Penitentiary is in trouble with the law yet again! However this time, he’s not inside for thieving, robbing or riding his Harley too fast- this time it’s the women in his life that put him back on death row.

Miss Polly, a pageant queen and daughter of the town’s crooked lawyer Peachum, has her eyes set on Macheath, but she’s not the only one! Lucy Lockitt, daughter of the drunken prison warden has also enjoyed a roll in the hay with Macheath. With backstabbing, thievery and jealousy rife in the town, Macheath has made plenty of enemies. Is there any way that he can escape the chair? Will there be a reprieve?

This seminal work written in 1726 has been re-written and transposed to the Deep South by Maher and Stone and features pageant queens, Hell’s Angles, prisoners, ladies of the night and hillbillies among many more typical Deep South references and features the music of Adele, The Beatles, Roy Orbison, Disney, Dolly Parton and many more!

Directed by Ann Blake and Niamh Bowen, The Beggar’s Opera will be brought to the stage by Villiers Transition Year students performing and working on all aspects of production. Director, Ann Blake  stated, “This is a unique and wonderful opportunity for Transition Year students, who experience all aspects of production through mentorship and apprenticeship. I’m particularly excited about this year’s show. Maeve and Darren have done a wonderful job re-writing the original text and modernising it! I would have loved an opportunity like this when I was in Transition Year.” Co-director Niamh Bowen is equally enthused, “They are a great group to work with, this year’s show is going to offer audiences something different to previous shows, and it is an opera, so there’s a lot more songs!’

The play runs for two nights on Thursday May 19th and Friday May 20th at 8pm in Belltable, 69 O’Connell Street, Limerick.

Tickets available from School Reception 061 451 447 – Adult €15, Concession €10 and from www.limetree.ie

The Bad Apple

Congratulations to our TY students who have just completed a two night run of specially commissioned drama, 'The Bad Apple', by playwright and former Villiers student Maeve Stone. Over 80 students participated, many of them treading the boards for the first time.

Stone's play shines a humorous light on science and technology, whilst exploring the moral dilemma of the loss of meaningful, face-to-face communication. Our budding actors embraced the sentiment of the plot and successfully brought Stone's work off the page under the guidance of directors, Ann Blake and Niamh Bowen.

What another great achievement and experience for our TYs. We are certain that a number of them have been bitten by the acting bug and look forward to the next time they open the grease-paint.

Transition Year Drama

                                                          TY Drama 2015
                                               'The Bad Apple' by Maeve Stone
                                      69 O' Connell Street (formerly the Belltable )

Rehearsals are well underway for this year's TY Drama Production which will see over 80 students take to the stage in a new play by Maeve Stone. Maeve is a past pupil of Villiers. We are particularly proud that this is the third play of Maeve's that our students will perform.

In a world where technology has replaced meaningful communication, where dinner-time is divided between phone-calls and skyping and family loyalty is bought by new gadgets, the Eye-Brain 4 is launched by Apfel, a seemingly harmless corporation. Beneath the surface, however, lurks the dark intentions of Pink Lady and her coven of apple witches, vying for world control.

Only haphazard scientists and children fighting for the freedom of their parents, battling internet bugs and trolls, stand in her way.

In a brand new play by Maeve Stone, The Bad Apple shines a humorous light on technology and society. Directed by Ann Blake and Niamh Bowen The Bad Apple will be brought to the stage by Villiers Transition Year students performing and working on all aspects of production.

The play opens for two nights Thursday Jan 29th  and Friday January 30th at 8pm.
Tickets available from School reception.