Cork 2005: A hillside church built for a vanished garrison is the setting for Graffiti Theatre Company's production of The Snow Queen. The vast empty arcades of St Luke's de-consecrated building are transformed into fairy-tale streets and the plastic-coated transepts become a fanciful snow palace.
Stage properties choke the spaces behind the great organ screen, while the semi-circular, marble-lined chancel accommodates the steps and stairs and windows of a snow-bound terrace. Although it is daylight the atmosphere is slightly eerie, an ambience which suits Director Emelie FitzGibbon, even as she and her young cast shiver their way through rehearsals.
This production is an adaptation commissioned from Mike Kenny; Graffiti has used his work before for its education theatre presentations but a grant from Cork 2005 enabled the company to commission a new script directly.
"It's a very complicated story," says FitzGibbon. "I think it's about maturation really; it seems to me that it's about refusing your emotions as with the cold Snow Queen or going with them as with Gerda, who follows her heart. The gender focus of this piece suits our own concentration on emotional literacy especially as it affects boys - it's a very uncompromising story."
Since it was founded in 1984, Graffiti has never been afraid to tackle teen or childhood issues while maintaining its commitment to provide quality professional theatre for young people and supporting presentations with workshops and resource material.
Enda Walsh, Roger Gregg and Raymond Scannell have been among the 19 playwrights engaged by the company which has presented more than 30 new scripts and more than 60 different productions in Irish and English.
Currently planning a revival of Mike Kenny's The Lost Child for its 2006 season, Graffiti also uses its outreach programme to develop theatre skills and appreciation both among schoolchildren and students, and among artists and teachers involved in drama education.
The new year also will see the company moving into its new premises - another church, this time the redundant chapel of the Assumption Convent in Blackpool, which is now being refurbished for its new tenants.
In the meantime cast and crew, including composer Cormac O'Connor and designer Olan Wrynn, cower as another cascade of dry ice shoots from the ambulatory.
Unsettling and unpatronising as the story may be, Emelie FitzGibbon understands magic and is bent on providing it. Notices of the performances carry the warnings first that the play is suitable for children from eight to 12 years, and second that warm clothing is recommended.
* The Snow Queen is at St Luke's Hall, Summerhill North, Dec 6-17; school performances at 10.30am and 2pm.; public performances at 7.30pm, Saturday matinees at 3pm (021-4397111).
