August is seeming quite novel in terms of Irish theatre, as there is a strong bill of bold and adventurous acts on the table.
First: Pan Pan are back! With the Irish Times Theatre Awards Best Production 2010 trophy under their belt and never-ending acclaim for The Rehearsal, Playing the Dane (check out tour dates for October and November), the mavericks have returned for a date with Beckett (a first date, mind you. Considering their postmodern aesthetic I was surprised that Pan Pan had not engaged Beckett before). All That Fall is a radio play about a seventy year old woman and her laborious journey to the Boghill train station to meet her blind husband as a surprise for him on his birthday. The composition has been described as part black comedy, part murder mystery, part cryptic literary riddle, and part quasi-musical score. Furthermore, audiences will experience the play in a “listening chamber” in the upstairs space in the Project Arts Centre (Aug 23-Sept 2) architected by Aedín Cosgrove – who’s previous sets have been masterpieces in themselves. Gavin Quinn is on directing duties and Danes Andrew Bennett and Judith Roddy are among the cast.
Secondly: Una McKevitt is back with a new show. Those familiar with McKevitt’s work know its remarkable authenticity and issued quarrels between life and illusion, onstage and off, as very real people present themselves onstage with very real testimonies. Work such as Victor & Gord and 565+ have rewritten theatrical code in such a manner that the distance between spectator and performer has been joyously reduced. With The Big Deal (pictured above), McKevitt’s practice seems to have taken a whole new step. Described as an “extraordinary real life story of two women who knew from a very young age that they were born into the wrong bodies”, The Big Deal is based on these two friends and their individual journeys towards full transition from male to female bodies. Like McKevitt’s previous work, the subjects have composed the script themselves, supplying material such as journals, poems, songs, and interviews. Unlike her previous work, the individuals themselves will not be delivering the content. Instead, McKevitt has cast two actors to perform in the show. It will be interesting to see if the authentic nature which made her work so moving in the past will be present in the absence of those whose lives are ‘The Big Deal’ on this particular occasion. Catch the play at the Barnstorm theatre (Aug 10-14) as part of the Kilkenny Arts Festival.
