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MUSICAL maestro and dramatic arts impresario Lydia Martin has been on the move again … opening a new venue in Saar which she hopes will inspire even more performers in Bahrain.
The community-based project’s creative base now close to Saar Mall will be unveiled on Saturday with an open day, flea market and garden party between 1pm-6pm.
“It’s so much more than an open day,” she said. “We are having a flea market with many stalls already booked selling jewellery, crafts, wooden furniture, handmade clothes, burgers, hotdogs, cakes, refreshments and homemade edible delights. It’s a real family day out with a huge assortment of activities for families and children.”
Lydia, pictured below, a former St Christopher’s School teacher and co-creator of Sar Music Centre (SMC) which crashed after suffering financial losses following the 2011 unrest, is delighted her new venture, The Inspire Arts Centre, has struck such a successful chord and outgrown its original base off Budaiya Highway.
“Inspire took the decision to relocate on the coming availability of this wonderful villa which I have been drawn to over the past 14 years in Bahrain, never to dream that we would be able to take on such an amazing building and wonderful grounds,” explained Lydia, Inspire Bahrain’s director.
The new venue is a converted masra’a and has a 250-seater hall in which the next MASK (Music And Stage for Kids) show will be staged at the beginning of May entitled You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. Other rooms which will be used for training students and clients for performance as singers, musicians, actors and public speakers.
“We currently have several programmes running,” she added, “all based on preparing young people and adults for performing, whether in a band, in a play or music theatre production, in a LAMDA or music examination or in a business meeting or radio show!”
Inspire’s popular Youth Band, Young Performers and Little Bandits sessions offer students, aged from five to 21, a chance to learn an instrument, receive vocal coaching, improve their speech and drama techniques and develop musicianship and team building skills required to be part of the Bahrain Drums tribal drumming circle and other bands.
There are various other courses too and every Sunday mums with children aged one to four enjoy an interactive hour of drumming, xylophones, pianos, dancing, jumping and craziness.
On Monday evenings a lively Youth & Community Choir performs and it will be staging a free show alongside many of the vocal and instrumental students at the Isa Cultural Centre on Thursday, April 27.
