As TheatreFest15 gathers pace two theatre professionals from opposite sides of the Atlantic have been impressed by young Manx talent.

Freelance theatre director Bev Clark from Merseyside and composer, producer and director Spencer T Williams from San Jose, California have been in the island for preparatory meetings and auditions for productions that will form part of the programme for TheatreFest15, the five-year project to promote new work for the theatre being driven by a partnership between the Isle of Man Arts Council and the National Operatic and Dramatic Association (NODA).

Over the course of one weekend Ms Clark held an introductory workshop for a devised piece of theatre to be produced by Manx theatre company Stage Door Entertainment, while Mr Williams attended auditions for For Tonight, his new musical with a strong Liverpool theme scheduled to debut this October in a concert version as part of the TheatreFest15 programme.

Before coming to the island the pair spent time in Liverpool researching for the devised work, which has slavery as its theme. (Slavery will be the thread that binds all TheatreFest initiatives throughout 2015).

Mr Williams, whose work For Tonight was inspired by life events of his great-great-great grandfather in northern Wales and Liverpool in the 1840s, said he was ‘very excited’ to have had the opportunity to visit the Island and to stand on the stage of the Gaiety Theatre and he was impressed by the island’s ‘amazing young talent’. ‘What a journey For Tonight has given me,’ he said.

Joining them was Stuart Brayson, composer of From Here to Eternity with Tim Rice, whose new work Jimmy Mac, a musical, will have its world premiere, also in October, in the TheatreFest15 line-up when all three productions will be staged at the Gaiety Theatre, in the island’s capital, Douglas.

He said: ‘I am thrilled to support and be a part of TheatreFest15 on the Isle of Man in October. TheatreFest15 is an exciting new initiative that places the emphasis on brand new work and encourages new talent in the theatrical arena. I am so excited to be able to stage a world premiere of my new musical comedy Jimmy Mac at the glorious Gaiety Theatre on Saturday October 10th as part of the festival. If you, like me, are frustrated at the current lack of opportunity for new voices and fresh faces in the world of theatre then I urge you to come along, take part and support TheatreFest15.’

Reflecting on her time in the island Ms Clark said: ‘The weekend went very well. We had some great meetings with Stage Door Entertainment and the rest of the TheatreFest15 team and attending the For Tonight auditions we were wowed by the level of talent shown by young people from the Isle of Man. We spent a really productive few days in the island and now feel we have a great creative team with which to move TheatreFest15 forward.’

Photo - Spencer T Williams, Stuart Brayson and Bev Clark.