Students are taking us back to the Soviet era
TRANSITION Year students of CBS Secondary School, Charleville are set to bring an important period in the history of Limerick City to the stage in a play entitled ‘Baby Soviets’, written by Tomás Óg Ó Céilleachair and produced in association with the Limerick Youth Theatre, directed by artistic director Fiona Quinn.
The play recalls the general strike of April 1919 in Limerick city, which was against British militarism and is one of the most important events of the War of Independence.
Following the tragic death of a Republican hunger striker and the imposition of martial law on the city, trade unionists and local Republicans combined to organise what became known worldwide as ‘ The Limerick Soviet’. They ran the city for two weeks, fed the population, printed currency and published a daily newspaper.
Eventually, the military restrictions were lifted and work was resumed in two phases.
The play is set in Limerick City, April 1919, with the events of the Soviet pushing the story on. It focuses on three fictional characters: Peggy Ryan, who is played by Maeve Bartley from the St. John the Baptist School Hospital, Co. Limerick, and is the only female in the otherwise all male cast, Christy Collins and British soldier, James McAllister.
The arrival of a fourth person, American journalist Martha Browne, means that characters are forced to face difficult decisions and choose the path that they will take as the War of Independence continues.
‘Baby Soviets’ has a cast of 24 students and is running for two nights, with a different cast each night. Directed by Fiona Quinn of the Limerick Youth Theatre, the show will be performed in Charleville’s Community Hall opening on Thursday, March 28th at 7.30pm, with matinees for schools.
Tickets are available from the CBS Secondary School and at the door. Events may also be followed on the school Twitter feed.
The school play is part of the Create Engagement programme for school students which is run under the auspices of the National Association of Principals and Deputies (NAPD) and funded by the Department of Education and the Department of Arts and Culture. The programme’s founder, Mary Hanley of Shannon, explained that it is designed to encourage Transition Year students to engage in a creative discipline and is non-competitive.
Creative Engagement is now in its 20th year and Charleville CBS Secondary School have been participating in the programme for the past five years under the direction of the school’s co-ordinator, Mary Mulroe. They have collaborated with the students of the John the Baptist School in Hospital, Co. Limerick and with those at St. Joseph’s Foundation, Charleville in past productions, and in association with the Kilmallock based Limerick Youth Theatre’s artistic director Fiona Quinn.