After finishing the Leaving Cert, perhaps the last thing on one's mind would be to try and increase stress levels.

However, for those involved in the teen-centred Histrionic Productions, stress comes with the joy of pulling off another production, and Marc Atkinson and Liam McCarthy readily admit that they were planning their forthcoming play 'Junk' during the course of the exams.

Atkinson directs 'Junk', an adaptation of Melvin Burgess' acclaimed novel, while McCarthy takes one of the lead roles 'Tar', while also operating as production manager.

Remarkably, this is Histrionic's eighth performance since their formation just two years ago, when Marc and Liam were sixteen.

"We were supposed to be involved in a production that fell through," explains Liam. "We set Histrionic up so that it wouldn't be facilitated by anyone but ourselves. We wanted to see if we could do everything from directing to producing to lighting."

As Liam goes on, it is clear that multi-tasking is a necessity for any Histrionic member: "For instance, when we were doing 'The Importance of Being Earnest', I was cleaning the toilets five minutes before we went on stage!"

At 19, Pius McGrath is one year the senior of Marc and Liam, and as well as acting as their PR guy, he also plays the part of 'Richard'.

He feels that as the group develops, so do the prolific young practitioners involved: "It is a cultural industry to a certain extent; we are learning by trial and error and from each other, because we all bring some different to the table."

While previous productions have included the aforementioned Wilde classic 'Earnest' and 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', Histrionic felt that now is an apt time for them to take on a more contemporary and edgy piece.

"As a group that was teenagers, we really wanted to do a play that had something to with our lives, that was relevant to the modern world we are growing up in," says Marc.

Burgess' novel caused its own controversy when it first emerged in the mid-nineties, with its warts n'all depiction of teenage angst, drug addiction, and underage sex.

Yet, it has since been heralded as one of the most important books ever written for teens, and the stage adaptation by John Retallack followed suit.

"It's not a preachy play; it's not saying yay or nay. This is life, take it or leave it. The first act kind of celebrates the culture, and drug-taking," notes Pius.

"The second act explores the consequences–this, to me, is important. A lot of drug education today tells us that hash is as bad as heroin. Obviously it has its own problems, but that is a dangerous lie," adds Marc.

Following the characters of Gemma (played by Erica Murray) and Tar, 'Junk' portrays the downward spiral that the young couple go on once they start a love-affair with heroin; the play follows them from the ages of fourteen to eighteen. Interestingly, smack-addled Trainspotting-esque stereotypes are dropped, and the duo are from a relatively middle-class Bristol background.