Theatre Studies at SETU presents The Light at the End of the Tunnel, an afternoon of contemporary performance from Theatre Studies students.
The event opens with Year 2 students who will present a short, promenade, site-responsive piece entitled Ungrounded (+ one) under the awning outside the building. This piece of physical theatre was originally devised by the ensemble for the Waterford Gallery of Art in April 2025 in response to Susan Connolly’s exhibition Ground (Two-unfold).
Connolly’s paintings and processes are re-imagined and regenerated with, through, and on the body in this performative reiteration. Ungrounded (+ one) takes inspiration from Sarah Long’s essay, ‘Carving Out a Space’, Naomi Replansky poem, ‘Housing Shortage’, and the Garter Lane Theatre site.
Once the audience has made their way into the auditorium, Year 3 students will present a series of plays from 365 Days/365 Plays by Suzan-Lori Parks.
Suzan-Lori Parks was the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2002 for her play, Topdog/Underdog.
Parks is known for her groundbreaking work that pushes the boundaries of theatre in the way it challenges conventional approaches to dialogue and performance. 365 Plays/365 Days is an experimental piece that Parks wrote over the course of one year. Each play is distinct, but interconnected, with themes of death, identity, race, and politics evident.
This amateur production of ‘365 Days/365 Plays (One-Act)’ is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd. on behalf of Samuel French Ltd. For more details, please see: www.concordtheatricals.co.uk.
The event culminates with a group performance from Year 1 students entitled Tiny Worlds, a collection of duologues and monologues.
The venue is wheelchair accessible and Irish Sign Language interpretation is available for the performance. Age restriction is 12+ as there are some instances of strong language in the scenes performed by first-year students. The third year plays reference death, suicide, and war.
Running time: approx. 80 minutes, no interval
This performance was part-funded by Growthhub@SETU and SETU Disability Support Services.
Theatre Studies at SETU would also like to thank the following businesses for their support: Gadget Man, T-Junction Café-Restaurant, Blade, Vape Nation.
