Blackboard jungle

Graffiti has had huge success with its model of youth theatre that often deals with very relevant issues, writes Colette Sheridan

INITIALLY set up on a six-month trial basis in 1984, Graffiti Theatre Company, Ireland’s second oldest educational theatre company (TEAM is the oldest) is thriving with a core staff of four people and anything up to 22 freelance workers on its books.

Located in a former convent building on Assumption Road in Blackpool in Cork, the company’s artistic director, Emelie Fitzgibbon, stresses the importance of the arts as both a source of employment and a crucial aspect of education that has far reaching benefits. She was working as a tutor in UCC’s English department when she was encouraged to establish the company.