The Meath Drama Group- From Page to Stage!

The Meath Drama group began weekly sessions with workshop leaders Mel and Izzy from Guildford Shakespeare Company in September 2025. Thanks to some generous funding, the Skills Centre has been able to provide a series of imaginative and inclusive sessions for the group.

Having explored ‘The Tempest’ together last autumn, the group staged their first informal showing of their abridged and adapted version of the play in November 2025. In January 2026,  the Group then embarked upon a second 10-week session project and performance of Romeo and Juliet. After delighting friends and family with their take on Shakespeare’s tale of star-crossed lovers, the group look forward to soon beginning their next ambitious performance project.

The Meath Drama Group includes cast members with complex epilepsy, disabilities, and nonverbal communication styles. Some members can read, but to make the sessions inclusive, group leaders, together with Meath Activity Co-Ordinator Linda use a plot and character-based approach; rather than working to original text throughout.

Linda, Skills Centre Activity Co-Ordinaotor has been working with the Drama Group since its inception and explains

“We started each of our performance projects by watching an abridged, easy to follow version of the play. It was also wonderful and a huge help to the group members, for us to be able to issue an abridged, simple version of the play to each group member at the start of the project.

Mel and Izzy were so great at making the group feel at ease and giving them the confidence to use their imaginations when exploring their characters. This approach offered everyone an opportunity to get involved, often working together as an ensemble in the telling of the story.

As we are lucky to have had the chance to work on two different performance projects with them, the group have been able to build on the skills they acquired during their first project. During rehearsals for Romeo and Juliet this spring, group members have been noticably more confident at getting involved with devising scenes and even made up an alternative ending!”

Guildford Shakespeare Company Prove That The Bard is Not Too Hard!

Shakespeare’s scripts are famously wordy, require some interpretation at times and are also delivered in iambic pentameter. However, Guildford Shakespeare Company are proud to put the bard’s universal themes centre stage and to enable members of The Meath Drama Group to explore his works in an accessible way. Jemima, Creative Learning Coordinator & Facilitator at Guildford Shakespeare Company explains

“A common misconception that we encounter with Shakespeare is that you have to understand every word to engage with the text. As an organisation, it is our mission to break down this barrier and to welcome everyone into the wonderful world of Shakespeare. One of the most compelling elements of Shakespeare’s work is that he was writing about the human condition – about what is means to be human and to exist in a complex world of contradictions. Much of our outreach and education work is driven by character and plot, allowing participants the opportunity to step outside of themselves and explore the world through the eyes of someone else. Whilst this is a fun, creative and liberating experience, it is also an exercise in empathy and compassion for those around us, promoting inclusion and self-expression.”