Majella Hurley comes to Sussex Drama Academy and gives a voice-changing experience for students
On Sunday, 8 December, students from across all six of ‘Ariel’s Drama Academies’ took part in a dialect workshop with Film, Television, West End and Broadway dialect coach Majella Hurley to prepare them for their performance of Fiona Doyle’s The Ceasefire Babies in February 2020.
[Majella workshopping the plays cast of Ceasefire Babies]
Majella has worked on many films, TV and theatre productions, including Ocean’s Eight, Alice Through the Looking Glass, A Monster Calls, Poldark, The Night Manager, Game of Thrones, The Ferryman, Miss Saigon, Jerusalem, Chicago and Wicked to name a few! She has worked as a voice and dialect coach for over twenty years, prior to which she spent a very rewarding time in education before pursuing her enthusiasm for voice and love of accents at the The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.
The Ceasefire Babies, by Fiona Doyle, was written as part of the Connections Festival 2018 where, each year, the National Theatre commissions ten new plays for young people to perform, bringing together some of the UK’s most exciting writers with the theatre-makers of tomorrow.
In a city still divided by a crumbling wall, siblings Mikey and Jamie no longer see eye to eye. There’s change in the air and not everyone’s ready for it. Jamie wants to reignite the old conflicts of her father and uncle, but Mikey and their friends must decide to either take hold of their own destinies, or allow the ghosts of the past to dictate their futures.
Following the workshop, Majella said: “A delightfully enthusiastic, committed and talented group of young people: a credit to themselves and to Ariel Company Theatre. I look forward to seeing their forthcoming production of The Ceasefire Babies.”
Ariel tutor and director of The Ceasefire Babies Ben Simpson said, “The opportunity for the cast to work with Majella was invaluable and they have learned so much about the Belfast dialect. Having worked with Majella on The Ferryman at the Royal Court and in London’s West End, there was no one else that came to mind to help these young actors hone this challenging accent.”
The Ceasefire Babies will be performed as part of a double bill with A Handbag, by Anthony Horowitz, on 21 & 22 February 2020 at New Bury Theatre, Hurstpierpoint College. Tickets are available at www.ticketsource.co.uk/ariel
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