They perform weird shanties about power (9)

I believe the answer is:

thespians

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'they perform' is the definition.
The definition suggests an adverb but the answer is not.

'weird shanties about power' is the wordplay.
'weird' indicates an anagram.
'about' indicates putting letters inside.
'power' becomes 'p' (symbol in physics).
'shanties' is an anagram of 'thesians'.
'thesians' enclosing 'p' is 'THESPIANS'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for thespians that I've seen before include "Actors" , "players" , "They may perform in front of scenery" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.

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