The first RYP production, Requiem for Julie was a play about drugs. Written by a teacher and friend of Gráinne Lord’s, it had already been performed at his school. At St. Andrew’s a group of young people were shown a video recording of Requiem for Julie and responded really positively. Permission was granted from the author to make the play more local, more applicable to life in Rialto.
Emboldened by Julie, the next production called Paradise Island, was a first attempt at something more homegrown. The play was written through a workshop process. To facilitate that process Niall O’Baoill of Wet Paint brought in Nico Brown and his partner. Jim Lawlor and John Bissett featured in the play as tropical birds, swooping dramatically across the stage.