Founded in 2007, when they staged their first production You Need to be Told: A Nativity Story, the group has returned with its second major play, School Bag.
Recently performing at the National Evening of Theatre during the Independence season, the group was well received with their skit The Graduate, which was performed before the Nazarene Drama Group’s 9 to 5.

In their upcoming production, School Bag looks at the lives of teenagers in Antigua and Barbuda when adults are not around. The entire play is set in a classroom with scenes taking place before school is called in, during breaks, after school, and during free periods or staff meetings.

The group’s playwright and director Zahra Airall explained that she wrote the play with the intention of giving a message to the adults rather than the teenaged students. “Even though the play is about teenagers, I want the adult members of the audience to leave the play re-evaluating their relationships with their teenagers or those teens in their lives.”

The play explores various social issues and challenges faced by students today, from the rising gang recruits and initiations, to drugs, smoking, teen sex, and other emotional and psychological issues that many adults are unaware of.
The director explained that the name “School Bag” is two-fold. “It represents the concealed items they carry around in their bags – weapons, drugs, condoms, stolen items and the like. But it also represents the students themselves and the emotional and psychological pains, issues or traumas they’re carrying around internally.”

For sentimental reasons, the group returns to the stage at the University of the West Indies Open Campus of Antigua and Barbuda (the University Centre). Home of the once popular and still highly acclaimed Harambee Open Air Theatre in the 70s and the 80s, ZYT hopes to restore the love of theatre to the stage, and has the support of Ian Benn and his staff.

The members of Zee’s Youth Theatre range from ages 13 to 18, mainly comprising of students from the Antigua Girls High School, Antigua Grammar School and the Antigua State College, and have worked really hard to create the right temperament for the play to deliver an important message to the adult community. Noting that School Bag is a drama, and not a comedy or a “happily ever after” play, the group stands by the reality of the scenes that may not necessarily reflect their personal experiences, but are indeed the experiences of many teenaged students around the island.

Tickets can be purchased at the Best of Books and the UWI Campus Office for $15 – Adults and $10 –Children.

Remember it’s open-air theatre, so dress warmly and walk with an umbrella, just in case. The play begins promptly at 8pm this Friday 20th and Saturday, 21st November, 2009. For further information you can call 779-6634.

To view the facebook event page, click here.