Performing arts / Theatre FEST 2024

With English being a global language of communication and business, the need for young people to use it actively is now an essential life skill. Schools around the country have in recent years added theatre options alongside their normal English classes, giving students a chance not only to improve their language skills by using English on stage, but also to develop their presentation skills and self-confidence while learning about performing arts.

Enjoy a wide variety of stimulating and entertaining plays, and support the vibrant artistic talent in Luxembourg. Nine one-act plays highlight the excellent but often unnoticed talent among pupils in Luxembourg.

PROGRAMME

The programme could be subject to change.

Friday 23^rd February

>19:00
European School Mamer
THE AUDITION by Don Zolidis
Comedy/​drama (All ages) 45 mins

A group of young actors auditions for the school production of ​“A CHORUS LINE”. But the new director, Ms Torrance, is more demanding than some of them think. And maybe, as we start to see, some of them aren’t really cut out for the theatre! Between the string of comic and chaotic auditions, we get a glimpse into the lives of those auditioning; and get a glimpse of the personal pressures and private longings which make them turn to theatre.

>20:00
International School of Luxembourg
THE IT by Vivienne Franzmann
​“Darkly-comic” (14+) 45 mins

“It is really small. Whatever it is. But it’s here. It’s definitely here.” A teenage girl has something growing inside her. She doesn’t know what it is, but she knows it’s not a baby. It expands. It has claws. Eventually, it takes over the entirety of her body. No one must know about it. She has to keep its presence, its possession of her, concealed. She pulls away from her friends. She refuses to speak, in case The IT is heard. But she can’t contain it forever. Sooner or later, something has to give…

Saturday 24^th February
Afternoon session

>13.30
Lënster Lycée International School, Junglinster,
ALICE IN WONDERLAND, a new adaptation of the famous Lewis Carroll novel by Sarah Lippert
Children’s Show (All ages) 45 mins

Alice in Wonderland. Everyone knows the story. But even Alice cannot escape the passage of time. But despite everything, despite digitalization, despite COVID, despite Instagram, they still exist: Alice, the White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter and the Queen of Hearts…

This production of Lewis Carroll‘s classic proves that the story about the incredible power of children‘s imagination has lost none of its appeal, even in modern times. So, get ready for Five o‘clock tea with the Mad Hatter, the March Hare and LLIS Theatre Project!

>14.30
Lycée classique de Diekirch
INNOCENT WITNESS by Geoff Rose-Michael
Drama (12+) 40 mins

A mundane visit to a local shop leaves Julia in an unenviable position as she is caught up in an armed robbery. She agrees to give a statement to the police. But when she discovers that there was more to the robbery than she thought, she finds herself caught in a moral dilemma with dangerous consequences.

>15.30
Lycée Michel Lucius
SPLIT by Bradley Hayward
​“Dramedy” (12+) 40 mins

Children of divorce are united through humour in this honest and theatrical look at the day-to-day reality of what it’s like to be in a family that has been torn apart. As these teenagers navigate a winding road that includes new bedrooms, new siblings and new responsibilities, they begin to put the pieces of their broken homes back together.

>16.30
Atelier des Arts
THROWBACK THURSDAY by Justin Flowers
Comedy (10+) 40 mins

Chaos theory tells us that small changes in initial conditions can result in significant changes later, like the flutter of a butterfly’s wings might cause a typhoon halfway across the world. In terms of time travel, it’s called a time paradox, and it’s the very thing that keeps DeeDee from trying out her new time machine she’s invented using household items, including her sister’s curling iron. Unfortunately for DeeDee and her friends — and for the state of all mankind, really — Tony didn’t pay enough attention in school last week. She’s flunked her algebra test, so she dismisses DeeDee’s warnings and borrows the hat-shaped time travel device for a quick trip back to last Thursday to warn past Tony, in hopes of saving her current self from summer school. But she changes a little too much, so she goes back again… and again…

Saturday 24^th February
Evening session

>19.00
European School Kirchberg
THE SHAPE OF THE GRAVE by Laura Lundgren Smith
Drama (14+) 45 mins
Contains some strong language.

Northern Ireland 1974: tensions between mainly-Protestant loyalists, who want the province to remain part of the UK and mainly-Catholic loyalists who want join independent Ireland have erupted into violence. The arrival of British soldiers in 1969 has made thing worse, and a vicious cycle of killing and counter-killing has become the norm. Colleen, a young Catholic teenager, feels embittered by the situation and is determined to fight for the Republican IRA. But her sister, Brigid, who just wants to live her life in peace, tries to make her see sense. But can she stop Colleen from going down the path of violence and, ultimately, tragedy. A hard – and timely — look at the way communities can fall apart and how a background of violence can brutalise even the most innocent.

>20.00
St George’s International School
TWO by Jim Cartwright
Dramatic comedy (12+) 45 mins

Two is an investigation into domestic relationships and how life can pass couples by, taking place in a singular location and gradually revealing what has pushed the central characters apart.

>21.00
Lycée Michel Rodange Luxembourg
15 REASONS NOT TO BE IN A PLAY by Alan Haehnel
Comedy (all ages) 45 mins

You think you’re going to see a play. But that’s not what you’re going to get! The chances are that at some point in your life you’ll be asked to take part in a play. So here are … well, 15 reasons why under no circumstances should you ever even consider being in a play!
Or should you …?