In 2008, the young performers of the Western Australian Youth Theatre Company (WAYTCo) were challenged to make new theatre based upon three simple words:

Blood, Sweat and Tears.

Based in Perth and founded in 1990, this youth theatre group has been performing for nearly 21 years. Famous plays by Shakespeare, Brecht, Nowra and Tim Winton have all been staged in various theatres around Perth, and in recent years the occasional project came up with originally devised material. Famously, Claire Hooper (Team Captain from Network TEN's  'Good News Week') directed a show called Fairy Tales on Thin Ice in 2006.

When Phil Thomson took over from Jenny Davis as Artistic Director in 2006 he encouraged young performers to develop their own voices as well as speak through the lines and characters of well-known writers and playwrights.

As a result of the creation of Blood in 2008 and Sweat in 2009, a savvy new breed of young performer is emerging from this youth theatre ensemble – creative, confident, with a sure grasp of character, script and plot.

WAYTCo is presenting the final of the trilogy this December at the YY Space in Murray St in Perth. Tears is an exploration of the power of raw human emotion and what could happen if it could be bottled and sold.

Over the next three years, the company will be working in their next trilogy –

Earth, Wind and Fire

Incorporating group devised theatre performance with new 21st century methods of engagement with audiences both live and through mobile digital devices, this youth ensemble hopes to develop some truly outstanding theatre that speaks with an authentic voice of Western Australian youth, telling stories that need to be heard, and seen.

Tears (not for Fears) is on at the YY Theatre Space (65 Murray St, Perth) from December 1-4 and 7-11. Tickets are $22/$17 for concessions and can be booked through the YirraYaakin website.

You can also check out all the production goss over at the Tears website; please your eyes and ears with this video of the cast talking about the show (snippets of rehearsals incorporated) and find out what else WAYTCo are up to via their website.