St. Joseph's put on a special performance of their entries for the Coca-Cola sponsored Form and Fusion Creative Costume Extravaganza last night Tuesday 29 January in the Linenhall Theatre. This was a really wonderful display by the Transition Year girls and the 5th year art students. A full house on Tuesday and apparently all sold out for Wednesday night too - and no wonder - they were something else. And, unless you've bought your ticket already, you will have to join the group of disappointed "young fellas" that were being turned away at 7:55pm last night!

With a swirl and a twirl - www.eb.woman

The beautiful new Linenhall Theatre provided a perfect setting for this unusual performance and it is exactly the kind of thing a town theatre should be used for. This new space is a wonderful asset to Castlebar with its raked seats and a bright, tall foyer and a lead-in space decorated last night with a fantastic exhibition of carefully framed and hung paintings by 10 and 11-year olds which will bowl you over. You will not believe how different it is to the old Town Hall if you haven't yet visited the renovated theatre.

Weird and Wonderful

The audience seemed to comprise half-and-half parents and boyfriends or wannabe boyfriends! These girls are confident and brave - strutting their stuff on stage showing off costumes made from old bits and pieces - essentially a major recycling operation was displayed on stage (the EPA would be proud of them). Old CDs, cigarette lighters, biros, old bits an pieces of material, wire, circuit boards, floppy disks all going to clad the lovely young ladies. Each costume was a team-design effort and the costume-wearer had a team of dancers who presented a choreographed routine to the tune of some catchy piece ranging from Tchaikowsky to Macy Gray to Dance. Good for you girls and good for the teachers and school supporting you! Who says TY is a doss year? The hard work that had gone into the show was very evident all round - and not forgetting the major effort required behind the scenes required to produce some 17 separate costumed performances plus performances from the school orchestra and trad group. Three winning costumes will be chosen on Wednesday 30 January and they will go on to the next stage in the contest. Good luck girls!

© Copyright 2006 by the author(s)/photographer(s) and www.castlebar.ie

Top of Page