THE short play Hands Off, written and directed by Sally Smart was performed during the ‘Short and Curlies’ event in Schull on the weekend of May 16th to 18th.
The play attracted huge attention and response from the audience where it performed to a packed house every night.
The inspiration for the play came from Sally’s drama work with young adults where shocking and very upsetting experiences were shared, mostly by girls, who have suffered abuse and serious harassment.
Seeing situations relived on stage truly allowed people to see, and witness, what is happening to young people, which is a far more powerful way than just hearing about it.
Sally said: ‘The lack of support offered and the need to keep silent are what shapes these people’s future lives. I wanted to create a piece of theatre to bring exposure and awareness to the public and empowerment to the students who tell the tale. These are our children and this is in our village.’
The creating of the play lead to workshopping the awful situations and discussing boundaries, how to say no, how to avoid, and how to feel good and empowered.
The students who attend Drama @The Loft where Sally has built a theatre for young people are from Goleen, Bantry, Durrus, Kilcrohane, Skibbereen and Schull.
Some have been training with Sally for years and for others, this was their first play.
The courage of the young adults involved made it possible to produce a fantastic play that has been met with astonishing results.
‘My fear was that people would react negatively, but the opposite was true, it has bought many to tears and the response has been a massive positive.’
Everyone who witnessed it has been made aware, been moved to tears, and have thanked the cast and director for bringing the issues out into the open and for doing this work with young adults.
‘The best and most rewarding thing for me as a writer and director is seeing these young people step up and how amazing it has made them feel about themselves. We are going to enter this piece into the All-Ireland one-act drama festival, where hopefully it will get to be seen by an even bigger audience.’
