Amu

Lost in a ChangingWorld

Fourth year students in the B.A. in Folk Theatre Studies course offered by the Institute of Technology, Tralee in association with Siamsa Tire are getting ready to call a temporary halt to the fast paced, consumer driven, instant gratification world in which we live.

As part of their course work the students have formed a production company called Diversions and will bring a 'Siamsa-Style' piece, called Amu, to the stage, which consists of movement, song, dance and music.

"Amu is Irish for Lost and the idea came about at a brain-storming session, "said Sarah Walsh, PR Manager of Diversions. "We were sitting around and couldn't quite come up with an idea for a production. Someone suggested doing a piece inspired by traffic lights because we were stuck at a cross roads!"

To stage a production inspired by traffic lights seems a most unlikely undertaking. Sarah agrees saying, "at first everyone just laughed but then the ideas began to take hold and we realised that everyone is faced with choices - some difficult - some mundane - and so, metaphorically speaking, we're all at a cross roads looking at traffic lights."

Diversions staged an extract of Amu at Siamsa Tire recently in which Caroline Byrne, originally from Ballymore Eustace in Co. Kildare, was lead dancer. She embodied perfectly the confusing feelings of loss and bewilderment facing people at a cross roads, as the other dancers whizzed in waves of movement around her, sweeping across the stage, leaving her momentarily behind before catching her in the next tidal surge.

I don't even like dance. But I gotta see the rest of this show!

Amu plays for one day only - February 9th at 11:00 am and 8:00 pm - tickets available from Siamsa Box Office at 066 712 3055