If you are looking for entertainment this summer, consider Through Shira’s Door, a play based on a work of fantasy by teenager Kisaye Bell.

The actors auditioned for their parts in June and have been preparing for the show, which runs next week at City Hall.

It is all under the direction of Patricia Pogson-Nesbitt, who received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Bermuda Arts Council last month for having contributed “a significant body of original work representative of the Bermudian spirit”.

The idea came from Milk and Honey, a book by the Canadian poet, Rupi Kaur.

In response to a man questioning how she found it so easy to be kind to people, a character in the book said it was because people had not been kind to her.

So it happens with Kaija, the protagonist in Through Shira’s Door.

“The ‘Bee Girls’ are a group of bullies who constantly pick on little Kaija,” reads the synopsis. “They think she’s ugly. After meeting the love of her life in high school, Kaija goes through some life-changing events that shift her trajectory for ever.”

That the story was a fantasy made it a great fit for The Rock Accord Storytelling Prize 2023.

The competition started in February with an online workshop for creatives from Africa, Gibraltar, Bermuda and the UK, aged between 9 and 19.

“They approached the Department of Education in Bermuda and a message was sent to the Department of Culture, which is how I found out about it,” Ms Pogson-Nesbitt said.

Students had until March 31 to share their stories in all genres of writing

“Although Kisaye was not the winner, there was something about her story that made me feel like it was easy to create for the stage,” said Ms Pogson-Nesbitt, who is producing the work under the auspices of her own Noire Youth Theatre Company.

“We decided we would have these intensive theatre workshops this summer, which provided an opportunity for young people to have their say in some issue that was pertinent to them, to be able to share it with an audience.

“So the children put this together. And some people in the audiences may be surprised at the things that go on in primary school. There's one scene that spirals this particular production into its trajectory for how it's supposed to end and the children told me it was a true story, that this actually happened at school. So they've managed to recreate it for the stage.”

It all ties in with what Noire Youth Theatre company stands for.

“We want audiences to be more self-aware of what we do to each other and subsequently, what you might do to yourself when you are not being your pleasant self,” the director said.

“Self-awareness is at the foundation of Noire Youth Theatre company programming. It is important for us to make sure that the children know what they're doing so that they don't get into situations that they find difficult to get out of. There's always a way to deal with a tough situation. We just have to find out how to do it sometimes.”

The play is being produced in partnership with the Bermuda Youth Library with sponsorship from the Bermuda Arts Council, the Bermuda Union of Teachers, John Barritt & Son Ltd and the Department of Youth, Culture & Sport.

Kisaye will play the adult version of Kaija in the play.

The 18-year-old, who was valedictorian on graduating from CedarBridge Academy, is no stranger to performing.

“She is a member of the Noire Youth Theatre Company and is one of the hostesses for Students Rap on Teacher Talk, which happens the last Thursday of every month on Magic 102.7,” Ms Pogson-Nesbitt said.

“She, along with her twin sister, Kesay, creates product for the radio, talking about youth in the arts.”

Kisaye is an “avid writer”. Her Loud Souls and That One Black Woman have both drawn attention with the latter produced as a television show by Lamone Woods of Crimson Multimedia.

“People can go to our Instagram site or to our YouTube site to watch it and you can see her performing in that particular production,” Ms Pogson-Nesbitt said.

“She's a very bright girl. She wants to go away and study acting.”

The ultimate hope is that Through Shira’s Door helps people better understand how to cope with whatever life throws their way.

“We hope that people will come to the production and look for a peaceful resolve to any issue that they may face. I think it's very adult of them to be thinking in this way. The participants, for the most part, are between nine and 11 and then we have 18 years and upwards for the young people that play adults,” Ms Pogson-Nesbitt said.

Through Shira’s Door will run at 7pm on July 28 and 29 at Earl Cameron Theatre. Tickets, $45 general admission, $85 patrons, are available on Ptix.bm. For more information on The Rock Accord Storytelling Prize, visit shorturl.at/BKOU8. Follow Noire Youth Theatre Company on Instagram