Chasing The Dragon, a no-nonsense, exploratory look at Irelands drug culture and the far-reaching consequences usage has on all facets of our society opened in Cork yesterday (Wednesday, April 30) offering audiences not only an opportunity to sink their teeth into a gripping theatrical production, but also a glimpse of the latest batch of talent soon to emerge from Leeside.

It has been conceived, produced and presented by the students and staff of Colaiste Stiofain Naofa's Performing Arts Department as part of their final year project with students helming over every aspect, from the design to the production, the construction to the operation and the stage management right on through to the directing and acting.

Directed by up-and-coming director Jenna Mehigan-Collins with co-direction from the more established Marion Wyatt (Anne Frank and Me, The Good Sisters, The Sunbeam Girls, Under Milk Wood, 12 Angry Men, Singin' In The Rain), Chasing The Dragon is an interwoven story of characters brought together through the world of drugs. Audiences are introduced to a host of characters drawn from varied facets of society, including pillars of the community with a sordid secret, a high flying businessman with foreign affairs, an oblivious wife, an addict, a dealer, curious teenagers and a burned out bunny boiler.

"Chasing The Dragon is not set in any one particular location, nor can it be pinned down to any one specific period in time," said Jenna when asked to expand upon the premises. "Drugs aren't a modern phenomenon, and this production seeks to reflect that. A contemporary collective of twelve characters exists in the layers between haunting Greek-style chorus and ageless snapshots of societies affected by drugs. The twelve central characters are all connected in an unlikely web of relationships that is so representative of the global village we find ourselves living in today.

There are those you expect to see – the oblivious junkie, the curious teenagers, the shrewd dealer – but you will also meet the sisters, the mothers, the wives, the businessman and the girl next door, all addicted to something, be it narcotic or not. Addicted to helping, to trying to help, to hoping for the best, to not caring, to money, to pills, to cocaine, to cannabis, to power, to prescription drugs, to alcohol, to heroin, to tobacco, even to homemade crystal meth.

"When we began to devise the script for Chasing The Dragon we agreed right away that we should recognise the prevalence of drug use in every social class and not simply provide the simple stereotypical story of the lower class 'junkie'. Through a process of workshop, discussion, and indeed debate we found ourselves with the twelve featured characters of Chasing The Dragon, each representative of an important social demographic. The entire script was informed by as many primary sources as possible – one notable source being an interview with an ex-heroin addict which has woven its way into the soundscape of the play as well as helping to mould one of the twelve characters.

Sound and visuals were equally important in devising for this production and the experimental style of theatre lent itself perfectly to the sense of the play. The story is told using series of stand-alone and interwoven monologues, dialogue, and a fusion of prose and poetry, all following a non-linear timeline giving Chasing The Dragon the necessary surreal and dramatic quality it needs, but also lending a healthy dose of realism in its candid and bare-all nature."