Drama students stage new version of controversial coming-of-age play

A new adaptation of Frank Wedekind’s ground-breaking 19th Century drama, Spring Awakening, will be staged at NUI Galway’s O’Donoghue Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance from this Thursday to Sunday, March 21-24. Devised and presented by Third Year Drama and Theatre Studies students at NUIG, the play addresses themes of sexuality, consent and mental health, as they relate to contemporary society. Wedekind’s frank and haunting treatment of adolescent sexuality, depression, suicide and academic pressure was written in 1890-91 but didn’t receive its premiere until 1906. It was first staged in Germany in that year and was so controversial that subsequent productions in Europe and North America were censored. Now, the NUIG students are offering a newly-devised version of the piece. Transitions: A Spring Awakening Play transposes the play to a contemporary Irish context. It follows three young people, Dougie (Daniel Granahan), Alex (Conor Gormley) and Clara (Áine Cooney), and their immediate circle of friends and family during an eventful Spring. The three face challenging circumstances, which they find difficult to navigate because of the pressure of academic study and sexual discovery. This results in individual and collective tragedy. The production examines how far Ireland has progressed in terms of social development and challenges us to examine the way we view the ongoing mental health crisis among young people.