Grand Youth Theatre Co Bring Chatroom to Blackpool, post Fringe 10 September

The Grand Youth Theatre Company will be taking their latest piece Chatroom to the Fringe this August and will be performing it exclusively at The Grand upon their return in September.

The GYTC are no strangers to the synonymous arts festival held in Edinburgh every year. Their first piece, The Servant to Two Masters, ran for a week at the festival in 2010. The year after they presented Ella Hickson’s contemporary piece, Eight at two venues at the festival before bringing the production back to Blackpool for a performance in the Grand Theatre’s Lawrence House Studio in September.

The exciting new piece Chatroom depicts the developing relationships of six teenagers in cyberspace through online chat. Chatroom is a piece of theatre which cleverly comments on the very current topic of adolescent manipulation and vulnerability.

What begins as seemingly innocent conversations and teenage chat about trivial issues takes a sinister turn as the teenagers, who have never met, turn on and manipulate each other.

Enda Walsh explores issues of adolescent vulnerability, the development of persona and the path everyone takes from child to adulthood, in a way that is warm, funny and deeply moving.

GYTC was set up in September 2009 and meets regularly at the Grand Theatre. Under the direction of Colin Snell the project is an opportunity for young people aged 11-26 to work within a theatrical company. Since forming the group has also participated in The National Theatre’s Connections new writing programme, performing Those Legs by Noel Clarke at The Brewary Arts Centre, Keswick. The GYTC will be taking part in the Whitefield Halloween Festival in October and November’s Blackpool Annual Literature Festival.

Chatroom runs at the Blackpool Grand from 10 – 12 September.