Pageant Wagon, 'Mary Stuart': The Last Queen of Scotland

Photo: Futoshi Sakauchi

Freemasons Hall, Dublin

July 30-Aug 10

My review of Mary Stuart - Queen of Scots by Friedrich Schiller coming up just as soon as I place a weighty responsibility in fumbling hands ...

Don't Say the 'C' Word: Irish Theatre Outside the Capital

Macnas's This Thunderous Heart tears down a street in Galway.

Last night an article written by Una Mullally was published on the Irish Times website. Entitled 'The 60 Most Creative People In Ireland Right Now', it lists a range of talented people involved in the arts.

I enjoyed the article but one can't ignore that it's a very Dublin-centered list, and it doesn't represent the overall output of creativity in the country. Mullally gives a disclaimer acknowledging this, fluffing her authority on the subject with the simple truth: "That's where I live".

There is a lot happening in Dublin but we can't take it to represent the nation. I ran into this problem last year. I began writing this blog while living in Galway, and when I moved to Dublin I felt a certain authority with my knowledge of theatricals outside the mainstream theatre in the capital. But in the comments section of my write-up on Irish theatre in 2012 it was pointed out that, with the exception of one act, all the performances I had discussed were from Dublin-based companies. Hence the addition of the subtitle: A blog about theatre in Dublin and elsewhere.

(note: I've been working on reducing my own Dublin-centered habbits. You can read my Cork Midsummer Festival coverage here and my Galway Arts Festival coverage here.)

Mullally should have readjusted her headline to reflect her local scope on things. But it doesn't hurt to have a list of the creative and productive theatre companies that are based outside the capital.

No doubt I have left out somebody so please add them in the comments section.

TheEmergencyRoom, 'riverrun': A Way Through the Wake

Druid Lane Theatre, Galway Arts Festival
Jul 22-27

My review of Olwen Fouéré's riverrun coming up just as soon as I look astronomically fabula ...

Fabulous Beast, 'The Rite of Spring': Pictures of Pagan Russia

Photo: Johan Persson

Black Box Theatre, Galway Arts Festival
Jul 15-20

Next festival stop: Galway Arts Festival, where Fabulous Beast are headlining proceedings with their double bill of Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring and Petrushka.

Unfortunately, I had to leave in the interval before Petrushka in order to catch a bus so I won't be able to comment on experiencing both in tandem (would greatly appreciate you guys filling me in in the comments section).

My review of The Rite of Spring coming up just as soon as I bum a cigarette ...

Project Arts Centre, 'Best Man': A Novel Nanny

Photo: Michael MacSweeney

Project Arts Centre, Dublin

Jul 16-27

My review of Best Man by Carmel Winters coming up just as soon I show remarkable enthusiasm for the free whiskey ...

THISISPOPBABY, 'All Dolled Up Restitched': High Heels in Low Places

Abbey Theatre, Dublin
July 10-20

My review of All Dolled Up Restitched by Panti coming up just as soon as I'm surrounded by the debris of a destitute transvestite ...

Theatre Festival Reminds Us of Ireland's International Standing

Estragon, Vladimir, Pozzo, Lucky and the Boy are back.

The Dublin Theatre Festival (Sept 26-Oct 13) line-up was revealed yesterday.

"Come Out to Play" is the header of this year's programme, and from looking at it you'd think that it's a message meant especially for the international community, as if Festival Director Willie White is saying: "Dublin is ready to play"

Last year's programme was heavily dependent on home-grown artists - a circumstance possibly due to the lack of a replacement sponsor after Ulster Bank. Still, it was a strong festival that put the best of Irish theatre into action (it was great to see The Corn Exchange landing the Gaiety stage and The Company graduating onto a bigger platform) as well as hosting acclaimed international acts such as Elevator Repair Service, Forced Entertainment and the Wooster Group.

There are many more performances being flown in this time around. Richard Maxwell's New York City Players come from the height of NYC's experimental downtown scene with Neutral Hero. Listed as one of the top ten shows of 2012 in the New York Times, this tells the story of a man searching for his father in the wide open landscape of the American Midwest using the company's unique neutral style.

We also have the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of the narrative poem The Rape of Lucrece performed by the sensational Camille O'Sullivan. Pushing the boundaries of contemporary circus, Australian company Circa deliver their "exquisite cabaret of the senses": Wunderkammer. From Portugal comes Mundo Perfeito's Three fingers below the knee - a performance informed by the archives of the censorship commission established during Salazar's dictatorship which exposes the oppression of artistic and political freedom felt during that time. While The Events - the most recent play by Scotland's acclaimed dramatist David Greig - comes to the Abbey's Peacock Stage.

Speaking of which, the Abbey will be the site of the first original Frank McGuinness play there (or anywhere else?) in fourteen years. The Hanging Gardens promises to be a  familiar portrait of the Irish family, centering on a writer and the tensions in his family(*). The original play comes after a lengthy string of adaptations at the Abbey such as John Gabriel Borkman and The Dead, and is directed by Irish director supreme Patrick Mason. While over at the Gate, director Wayne Jordan tackle's Bertolt Brecht's The Threepenny Opera - the "epic masterpiece of 20th century musical theatre". Brecht never seems to be performed in Ireland, and it's nice to see the Gate re-introducing him to an Irish audience (considering its historic role as being the Irish hub for the hits of European modernism back in the day) injected with Jordan's fresh and chic vision (Alice in Funderland anyone?). You might also want to drool over the cast lists for both shows


(*) Calling it now: the son character described as "struggling for his father's acceptance" is homosexual. It seems to be McGuinness's go-to insecurity in a male character, as seen in 'The Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme' and 'Dolly West's Kitchen'.


Of course, in a time when Brecht was pushing the form and Ireland's dramatists seemed concerned only with insular matters and basic modes of realism, we could claim Samuel Beckett as our proud contribution to the world of European modernism. Waiting for Godot comes to the Gaiety Theatre from acclaimed Beckett interpreters: the Gare St Lazare Players. Continuing to represent Irish theatre's ability to innovate, with their own unique incorporation of international styles, The Corn Exchange turn to Eugene O'Neill's early American masterpiece Desire Under the Elms. Whenever I see that The Corn Exchange are doing an adaptation part of me hopes that they push their commedia dell'arte masks to the max, as they did in their adaptation of Chekov's The Seagull way back when. Commedia's stock characters are locked in specific and extreme emotional states, and so are antithetic to the dominant mode of psychological realism where characters undergo behavioral change. The clash between both performance traditions has wielded fantastic results in the past.

Both members of Operating Theatre (Ireland's seminal avant garde company) are also in here, with Olwen Fouéré's riverrun celebrating the elemental journey of Anna Livia Plurabelle in James Joyce's Finnegan's Wake, and an in development showing of Roger Doyle's opera about the Renaissance genius Giordano Bruno.

Unfortunately, Irish Theatre Institute's ReViewed series seems to be missing. This initiative brought back strong productions which were felt deserving of a wider audience.

Also: the ghost of Maeve Brennan returns as Eamon Morrissey reveals how the Irish-born writer for the New Yorker caught up with him in his one-man show Maeve's House; Richard Brinsley Sheridan's 18th century satire The Critic receives a new production by Rough Magic; and Theatre Lovett take on the Brothers Grimm with A Feast of Bones.

Ultimately, this year's Dublin Theatre Festival aims to prove Ireland's abilities to host the cutting edge of international theatre, while simultaneously demonstrating that Irish theatre has a significant part to play.

Landmark Productions, 'These Halcyon Days': Love in Time of Nenagh

Civic Theatre, Tallaght
Jul 9-13

I don't have time to do a full review of These Halcyon Days by Deirdre Kinahan, which is now on an extensive tour backed by Landmark Productions.

Kinahan's play finds a theatre virtuoso named Sean, who after a stellar career with roles in Henry V and The Italian Job spends his days in the conservatory of a nursing home, suffering from dementia. Upon meeting another resident, the spirited Patricia, the two strike up a beautiful relationship, while she attempts to scatter the fog over Sean's recollections of his life.

Stephen Brennan is excellent as the aged thespian, his gentle presence charming and vulnerable. Anita Reeves can pack a punchline but I do feel that she's hammy at times. Some of her delivery could be dialed down.

What is promising is Kinahan's abilities as a playwright. Watch as this sweet relationship blossoms under the delicate guidance of her and director David Horan. She writes good dialogue and has a clever turn of phrase.

Though the low-key tranquility of the play is suggested by its title, you can't help but feel that These Halcyon Days plays the game a little too safe. It's a sweet story but lacks something dramatic to truly make the experience worth it. Here's hoping that Kinahan and company take a few more risks next time around.


What did everybody else think?

WillFredd Gets the Lay of the Land as Masterful FARM Returns

Emma O'Kane and Ralph the Pony return in FARM

"I still live a little bit by Brian Friel's introduction to Dancing at Lughnasa, which is Ireland is thirty years behind everywhere else".

It's a fitting ethos for director Sophie Motley, considering that her 2012 masterpiece FARM evokes many of the same feelings twenty years on from Lughnasa about the sanctuary of rural Ireland and the imposing nature of the urban world. Since then, studies have discovered that the migratory patterns of Irish people moving from the countryside to the city are a more recent occurrence in comparison to other European countries. FARM unearths that still ripe sentimentality buried under the concrete pavements.

Motley is a director with WillFredd - a company who uses light, sound, and movement to guide action similar to how a play text conventionally does. In FARM expect to be led through the warehouse space by Sarah Jane Shiels's shimmering lightbulbs overhead, to hear the gentle hum of Jack Cawley's guitar score kick into the upbeat strum of a seisúin, and to witness Emma O'Kane's choreography whip up a line-dancing scene that skillfully trumps any barn-dancing stereotype associated with country people.

The company collaborate closely with different communities, a method which brings its own concerns of representation and truth. "You have to create something that you can feasibly and respectively show back to that community", says Motley. So far they've been doing a fair job. Their 2011 debut FOLLOW inspired by actor Shane O'Reilly's personal experiences coming from a household of deaf parents, harnessed the theatrical possibilities of sign language and resulted in a show accessible to both deaf and hearing audiences alike.

"With FARM the process was a lot more pastoral", she says, referring to the close involvement of social rural organisation Macra na Feirme and various farmers they interviewed. These communities create the performance content, which then allows Motley's beautiful directorial vision to play with form while reflecting truthfully the sentiments of their collaborators.

Motley reveals that actor Paul Curley, who she was adamant to have involved in the production considering his growing up on a farm in Galway, introduced the company to the concept of Meitheal - the old Irish tradition where members of a community would gather and help each other harvest their crops - a tradition that for the most part has vanished in the advent of agricultural machinery. This became a leading force in the devising of the piece as an emphasis was placed on how an audience could experience Meitheal in the space.

"People look out for each other", she says, "and you don't always get that in the city. You get it in the odd little enclave in Dublin where Old Dublin still is. But so many people don't know their neighbours and I find that kind of astonishing".

It's what every artist strives for: the acquisition of a true subject. WillFredd, with an artful subversion of invented narrative, sweetly sway us closer to the truth - a rare and exceptional feat. FARM creates a uniquely Irish sense of community, and there's no denying the sublime power of Marie Ruane's soaring ballad or the spectacular transformation of Ralph the pony (Motley's secret weapon) to bring us in touch with those miraculous properties of the land, of rural togetherness, all to sadly perish when you step back onto the street when the performance ends.


FARM runs July 9-13 at the Lir.

Fishamble, 'Guaranteed!': A Boardroom of One's Own

Photo: Pat Redmond

Civic Theatre, Tallaght
Jul 1-2

My review of Guaranteed! by Colin Murphy coming up just as soon as I ask for another latte ...

Big Guns Called In for Festival Director's Last Fringe

Promotional art for HotForTheatre's upcoming new show Break

The highlights of the 2013 Dublin Fringe Festival (Sept 7-22) have been announced, which, of course, is the last festival overseen by artistic director Róise Goan.

Headlining international acts include glam singer/theatre artist Taylor Mac and an abridged version of his upcoming 24-hour project where he performs a pop classic from each decade in the twentieth century. Scottish-born Nic Green traces her national and personal lineage in the dance and music performance Fatherland.

The Gathering strand of the festival brings home-gig to Irish comedian Aisling Bea in a double bill with Dead Cat Bounce's James Walmsley, as well as a headliner to Maeve Higgins and her new show about her "break-up with Dublin" and the abandonment issues that arise from her move to London.

WillFredd's Sophie Motley and Sarah Jane Shiels are also at hand, collaborating with renowned musicians Caoimhin Ó Raghallaigh and Nic Gareiss in a performance about the role of mice in "traditional music, science, and in our daily lives". Meanwhile, fantastic to see great faith placed in the Galway-based Blue Teapot Theatre Company, whose acclaimed production of Christian O'Reilly's Sanctuary seems to be growing into a national hit.

In Irish theatre, the spotlights are appropriately shone on the two biggest success stories born from Goan's direction of the festival over the past five years.

Louise Lowe was already making strides with her fantastic site-responsive work with ANU Productions, but World's End Lane - the first installment of the nearing complete Monto quadrilogy - in the 2010 festival was a game changer. The success meant that the company migrated to a bigger platform in the Dublin Theatre Festival with Laundry (2011) and The Boys of Foley Street (2012). They return to the Fringe with Thirteen, where the company turn their theatrical historicity back one hundred years to the events of the 1913 Lockout with "a series of thirteen interconnecting works combining performance, installation and digital technology allowing audiences to immerse themselves in the tumultuous events of 1913 as they unfold in present day Dublin"

The 2010 festival also marked the debut of playwright/performer Amy Conroy with superstar hit I ♥Alice ♥I, which, along with follow-up The Eternal Rising of the Sun (2011), has had enough fire to fuel constant touring both at home and abroad. Her company, HotForTheatre, has become an exemplary touring company in Ireland, seeming to hit every venue in the country. Conroy has also gone on to become a treasured and insightful literary voice, writing about courageous souls in modern Ireland. Truly exciting, then, is her return this September in greater company than before with Break - a performance interrogating the public education system and the priorities of the institution that precede those of the individuals.

The full details of this year's programme will be released August 14. However, below is a list of other productions we know going to Fringe because their Fundit campaigns say so ...

• Rise Productions, The Games People Play - The creative team behind the highly successful Fight Night are back, this time with a modern retelling of Tír ná nÓg where the mythical paradise relocates to Drumcondra. Gavin Kostick back on script, Bryan Burroughs back on direction, starring the cunning Aonghus Óg McAnally. 

• Louise Lewis and Simon Manahan, The Churching of Happy Cullen - Also marking the centenary of the Lockout, this physical theatre performance about a mother's rite of passage though a tumultuous period in Ireland's social history already received a promising work-in-progress showing at THE THEATRE MACHINE TURNS YOU ON VOL.3. Lewis always gives a striking performance.

• Denis Clohessy, Animus - Having lent majestic music scores to The Corn Exchange and Rough Magic, composer Denis Clohessy's new project is a "music-driven revenge tale" and is propped up by an exciting design team including Aedín Cosgrove and Jack Phelan, and stars the charming Lucy Camille Ross. 

• X & CO, KITSCHCOCK - Anthony Keigher's pop star persona, 'Xnthony', becomes obsessed with stardom in this exploration of the anxieties and insecurities in a "world that continues to blur the line between public and private identities". 

• John Rogers, Decision Problem [Good Time for Questions] - Rogers's piece of science fiction theatre "charts the origin, rapid rise and possible future of computers", shining light on humanity's place in an increasingly digital universe. 

• 50% Male Experimental Theatre, FIGURE IT OUT - Male may be in the title but this new performance is about the complexities of female identity, with use of dance, live music and film.

Collapsing Horse, 'Human Child': While the World is Full of Troubles

Smock Alley Theatre
Jun 25-Jul 6

My review of Human Child by Dan Colley coming up just as soon as I call on a courageous dragon ...

Ruairí Donovan, 'WITCHES': Summer of Coven

Photo by Marcin Lewandowski

The Lough, Cork Midsummer Festival

Jun 21-24

A quick review of WITCHES coming up after the jump ...

Raymond Scannell, 'DEEP': Like the Legend of the Phoenix

Half Moon Theatre, Cork Midsummer Festival

Jun 21-30

My review of Raymond Scannell's new play DEEP coming up just as soon as I get laughed at by a Depeche Modist ...

Conflicted Theatre, 'The Scarlet Letter': Waters of Babylon

Photo: Enrique Carnicero

Millennium Hall, Cork Midsummer Festival
Jun 21-30

Cork Midsummer has arrived! First up: Conflicted Theatre's adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorn's classic The Scarlet Letter coming up just as soon as I become a member of a God-fearing community ...

Landmark Productions, 'Howie the Rookie': In Search of Respect

Project Arts Centre, Dublin
Jun 13-Jul 6

My review of Landmark Productions' Howie the Rookie by Mark O'Rowe coming up just as soon as I wear the white ski pants ...

Towards More Landmark Plays

Cillian Murphy in Misterman fighting against the trend of 'fundraiser plays'

One of the oldest rules in the book to guarantee a theatre company's survival has been to build a repertoire of plays, preferably ones that have earned a buck at the box office. The strategy is to draw on past hits, specific to the company or to the commercial theatre in general, and use funds to stay afloat. These fundraiser plays are safe and they may feel like nothing new but sometimes they're used to fund a later production that is compellingly new, rich with risk and innovation, something that will stay in your memory for years to come: the landmark play. What merit we can award a company depends on how that balance is struck between the fundraiser play, with its necessities of survival, and the landmark play, which can truly advance the artistry of the company.

Anam Theatre, 'Closer'

Town Hall Theatre, Galway
June 5-8

Trying something different. Still in the U.S.A. but writer Katie Walsh has seen Anam Theatre's production of Closer by Patrick Marber and written this review for Musings in Intermissions. Read on below ...

Summer Theatre Festivals and Holidays (specifically mine)

Off to party in America. Much like these gangsters in Drum Belly. Photo: Julien Bhal/PA Wire

A few things:

Philadelphia Portland, Here I Come!

I won't be writing here for the next two weeks as I will in the U.S. for a friend's wedding. But loads of things to look forward to when I get back ...

Cork Midsummer Festival

Tom Creed programmed a dynamic line-up for this year's Cork Midsummer, with much faith invested in local acts. A primetime spot is given to Raymond Scannell whose acting skills boast credits with Druid and Rough Magic, and whose wizardly intermingling of music with dramatic text was seen in Mimic and Alice in Funderland. His new play Deep is the story of a Deep House Junkie and Cork's first generation of ravers, and is directed by ANU's Louise Lowe (Question: has anyone ever seen anything Lowe has directed in an actual theatre and not site-specific?). 

Dancer Ruairí Donovan's Witches wakes us up at 4am for a "ritual exploring the forgotten female". Carmel Winter's new play Best Man, starring Derbhle Crotty and Bryan Murray, seems to be about a modern Irish family and how their relationships change in the years between economic boom to bust. Someone tell Fintan O'Toole, his Power Play might be here.

Lastly: one Cork company I am excited about is Conflicted Theatre. Their show last year, 18-35, had a strong visual flare and their adaptation of The Scarlet Letter in this year's festival could be truly something.

Galway Arts Festival

This year's line-up is spearheaded by Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre. Choreographer Michael Keegan-Dolan re-imagines his Olivier-nominated The Rite of Spring, which is presented alongside a new interpretation of another Stravinsky number - Petrushka. A success at last year's festival, the U.S.A's Northlight Theatre Company are back with Bruce Graham's new play Stella and Lou. And the sublime Olwen Fouéré unveils her new work Riverrun celebrating the elemental journey of Anna Livia Plurabelle in James Joyce's Finnegan's Wake. 

New Director at Galway Theatre Festival

Producer Kate Costello has been announced as the new director of Galway Theatre Festival. The festival has been seen through its five years in existence by previous director Róisín Stack, who has given this integral platform to rising companies such as Mephisto, Moonfish, Fregoli, and Bluepatch Productions. Costello was the producer of the West End Cool season of work by Galway-based companies at last year's ABSOLUT Fringe, and produces for WillFredd and Moonfish. 

That's it from me folks. See you in two weeks for my review of HOWIE THE ROOKIE!!! (Did I mention that I'm excited it's back?)

The Corn Exchange, 'Man of Valour': Commedia dell' Action Hero

Project Arts Centre, Dublin
May 28-Jun 8

I think everyone has that story - where they arrive early at a sold-out performance to put their name on a waiting list and pray that some seat will become available. Man of Valour sold out its run at the Samuel Beckett Theatre during ABSOLUT Fringe 2011, and a couple of nights I spent haunting the place, hoping that some ticket-holder would refuse to show and abdicate their seat to me. It didn't happen, and considering I was commuting from Galway at the time to review the festival, I spent those nights on the long bus journey home, dejected and thwarted.

It was with satisfaction then that I finally got to see the show this week! My review coming up just as soon as I'm reminded of a young Ian Lloyd Anderson ...

CoisCéim, 'Missing': Come Home

Photo: Ros Kavanagh

Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin Dance Festival
May 23-26

My review of Missing by David Bolger coming up just as soon as I hold your hand ...

Zoe Ní Riordáin, 'The Lesson': You Can't Handle the Tooth

Photo: Dara Munnis

Project Arts Centre, Dublin

May 14-18

My review of Zoe Ní Riordáin's production of The Lesson by Eugene Ionesco coming up just as soon as I'd like nothing better than some arithmetic ...

HotForTheatre, 'Eternal Rising of the Sun': Fighting For Your Life Inside a Killer Thriller Tonight

Pavillion Theatre, Dun Laoighre
May 9


My review of The Eternal Rising of the Sun by Amy Conroy coming up just as soon as I wait after the credits for a secret message ...

Stones Throw Theatre, 'The Broken Promise Land': I Was a Dancer All Along

Theatre Upstairs, Dublin
Mar 4-16

My review of The Broken Promise Land coming up just as soon as I find a dance job on gumtree ...

CoisCéim, 'Pageant': Waving the Flag

Photo: Ros Kavanagh

Project Arts Centre, Dublin

Feb 23-Mar 2 

I would have liked the time to do an in-depth review of Pageant - the new show by CoisCéim Dance Theatre - as I did with last year's Touch Me.

What's noticeable (after getting over the absence of Nick McGough *sigh*) is that choreographers David Bolger and Muirne Bloomer place themselves at the centre of things, and as sweeping as they are, I do wish that we got more of Robert Jackson and Jonathan Mitchell, though thankfully we get a very sassy routine from the divine Emma O'Kane. 

It is a struggle with Pageant at times to get meaning out of the action (the individual segments at the desk, in particular, were a head-scratcher), and at other times it frustrated as meanings weren't pushed to a dramatic payoff. Also, the acoustic music was too soft and seemed to slow everything way down.

However, the pros outweigh the cons: the performers are stunning (Bolger himself is particularly witted), and Sinéad McKenna's lighting is glorious. The spectacle promised by the title arrives for a fantastic finale as the company set out in force to achieve their goal: to capture that celebrated sense of being a wonder, blissfully watched, and recipient of applause and ovation. Appropriately, that also describes their curtain call. 

What did everybody else think?

Joss Whedon's 'Much Ado About Nothing': There Was a Star Danced

After having just described my on-again-off-again relationship with Shakespeare, I find myself discussing the Bard again, this time in Joss Whedon's film adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing, which just screened at the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival. My review coming up just as soon as I was born under a rhyming planet ...

New York Theatre Workshop, 'Once': On Grafton Street in November

Gaiety Theatre, Dublin
Feb 22-Mar 9

I don't have time to do a full review of the stage adaptation of Glen Hansard's adored film, Once. Fans of the original will probably like it, and hearing the music live is special. But did anyone else find it, em, kinda weird at points?

The decision to bill the story as a "musical" is a challenging one considering the low-key acoustic balladry that comes with it, and director John Tiffany turns to some odd choreography during numbers to fulfill that promise. The appeal of Once in the first place was its love for music and the making of music, and I wish that he would have left us to the musicians and their playing rather than trying to include that interpret-yourself movement.

Enda Walsh's book finds moments of comedy but there are some shockingly corny lines. I think the movie was received so well internationally because of its candid portrayal of Irish culture but, my God, lines in the stage play such as "We can't have a city without music. Dublin needs you" lean dangerously close to a Bord Failte advertisement. Dire.

Still, the rapturous ovation at the end clearly signals that this story resonates strongly with people in Dublin. It's a story that they're proud to claim their own, and the musical hits those same notes as the original.


What did everybody else think?  

Stephen McDermott, Conor Madden and Rob McDermott discuss new play about Christopher Marlowe's demise, 'The Secret Art of Murder'

"Hell hath no limits", writes Christopher Marlowe, "for where we are is hell/And where hell is there must we ever be".

Lines like this must have shot up hairs on the back of necks of audiences for whom, living in the Elizabethan era, God and the teachings of the bible were instilled as definitive truths. His antagonist Mephistopheles goes on to describe God as a "wretched" finding comfort in "companions in misery" (and in latin, to boot).

Marlowe's untimely death - reportedly, a stabbing through the eye in a tavern brawl - came only ten days after an arrest warrant issued by the Privy Council, assumingly on grounds of heresy. Speculation over his murder grew with the revelation of a letter by the Council sent to his university insisting that he receive his Masters degree for he was "working on matters touching the benefit of his country". Was Christopher Marlowe a spy?

This world of Elizabethan espionage has attracted playwright Stephen McDermott, whose new play, The Secret Art of Murder, is not a recreation of the dramatist's death but of the investigation into his death that has haunted the literary consciousness for centuries.

Abbey Theatre, 'King Lear': The Weight of this Sad Time

Abbey Theatre, Dublin
Feb 12-Mar 23

My review of King Lear coming up just as soon as I'm not so young to love a woman for singing ...

Call Back Theatre, 'Fred & Alice': Love in the Time of OCD

Bewley's Cafe Theatre, Dublin
Feb 6-23

I don't have time to do a full-length review of Fred & Alice, which I enjoyed.

In John Sheehy's new play two individuals diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder find each other in an institutionalised home and negotiate their way towards independent living and finding a home of their own.

Sheehy has written a playful script, almost with musical notation. I don't feel that the darker moments, such as Alice's account of her part in the demise of her kitten, quite balance with the lighter tone of the rest of the play - which is effectively managed. The purple prose in these moments just feels out of place. But the performances are engaging, especially the sprightly Cora Fenton.

What also strikes me is how the subject of mental illness in theatre, as also seen in Pat Kinevane's Silent and Dylan Tighe's Record, continues to be presented alongside with artistry - you have Valintino and the range of influences in Silent and Tighe's own music in Record - as if these creative outlets of communication are a means for frustrated characters to articulate and express themselves. On the other hand, psychological disorders may be exploited and used primarily as plot devices - as was some of the criticisms made of Carmel Winter's 2010 play B for Baby.


Was this the case with Fred & Alice? What did everyone else think?

15th Oak, 'The Life and Sort of Death of Eric Argyle': Remembrance

Smock Alley Theatre,

Jan 14-26

My review of The Life and Sort of Death of Eric Argyle coming up just as soon as the pragmatic, organisational part of my brain kicks in and I develop a haphazard filing system ...

THEATREclub, 'THE THEATRE MACHINE TURNS YOU VOL. III': Bonus Track Version

THEATREclub's mini-festival THE THEATRE MACHINE TURNS YOU ON, VOL. III has run it's course (check out my previous coverage here). A few more words on it after the jump ...

THEATREclub, 'THE THEATRE MACHINE TURNS YOU ON VOL. III': A Revolution Is A Change Of Mind

Project Arts Centre, Dublin
Jan 8-12, 15-19

Last night I attended the opening night of THEATREclub's THE THEATRE MACHINE TURNS YOU ON VOL. III. My thoughts on the evening coming up after the jump ...

Irish Theatre in 2012: Sacred Duties

In keeping with tradition I decided to do another write-up on the year that was, theatre-wise.

Last year I wrote about how I felt about lists and how un-useful they can be, so I'll be keeping with the approach of a discussion. Feel free to contribute in the comments section below.

On the subject of 2012, you'll probably have noticed that this blog has been inactive for most of it. This has been a result of time commitments to PhD research, work, a foray into making theatre (which is perhaps better left undiscussed), and to writing about theatre elsewhere and being paid to do so.

However, I've been thinking a lot recently about returning to the self-publishing ways. Aside from the insane amount of other things I have to do, I've found myself capable of writing faster, and so I think a weekly blog post is certainly achievable.

So please stick around (any press managers out there please retain my contact information!), and I'd like to wish Happy Holidays to all who have been around these parts, even if they have been quieter than usual.

My thoughts on Irish Theatre in 2012 after the jump ...

Sugarglass Theatre, 'Tender Napalm': Concerning the UFOs

Project Arts Centre, Dublin
Nov 27-Dec 8

My review of Sugarglass's production of Tender Napalm by Philip Ridley coming up just as soon as my marine D.N.A. kicks in ...

The Company, 'Politik': Bank Job

Samuel Beckett Theatre, Dublin

Oct 3-6

My review of Politik coming up just as soon as I dream of a black Christmas ...

The Corn Exchange, 'Dubliners': We Are Our Own

Gaiety Theatre, Dublin
Sep 27-30


My review of The Corn Exchange's production of Dubliners by James Joyce coming up just as soon as I deal with moral problems as a cleaver deals with meat ...

Musings returns to cover Dublin Theatre Festival!

Just when I thought I was out ...

Cheers for returning to these parts - you're very kind (especially considering I unceremoniously bailed back in March).

For the past few months I have been occupied with working the day job, researching for my PhD thesis, and, most proudly, producing and directing theatre with my company Lithium.

Occupying the territories of both theatre director and theatre reviewer seemed perilous so I chose one over the other. However, I have found myself missing writing about Irish theatre. 

So with the help of Dublin Theatre Festival, Musings in Intermissions is back for the duration of the festival! 

With tickets acquired, the schedule cleared, expect to see a new review up here every morning.

In the meantime, feel free to use the comments below to voice your experiences at the festival. I want to hear from you! 

Chris

THISISPOPBABY and the Abbey Theatre, ‘Alice in Funderland’: Curiouser and Bleerun’ Curiouser!

The Abbey Theatre, Dublin

Mar 30-May 12

My review of Alice in Funderland coming up just as soon as I provoke you by failing to distinguish between a cravat and a scarf ...

Special Priced Tickets for Pan Pan’s ‘A Doll House’ for Musings Readers

I’m sure it’s clear to many of you at this stage that I am a huge fan of Pan Pan.

I am excited about their upcoming production of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House for many reasons, chief among them being the casting of the marvellous Judith Roddy as Nora Helmer (Roddy’s Ophelia in The Rehearsal’s “Where is the beauteous majesty of Denmark?” scene is one of my favourite theatre memories).

The producer of A Doll House has been in touch to offer a special deal for readers of this here blog.

Tickets (originally priced at €30/28) are available to readers for €16. Head over to the booking page and enter the code FriPan into the box marked “production code”, or call the box office at 01 6770014 and quote the code.  

Below are the show’s press release and trailer. See you all there!

Floating World Productions, ‘Picturing the Soul’: Hey Soul Sister

The Back Loft, Dublin

Feb 18-19

My review of Picturing the Soul coming up just as soon as I hand you a butterfly …

CoisCéim, ‘Touch Me’: Tables and Chairs

Town Hall Theatre, Galway

Feb 14

My review of Touch Me coming up just as soon as I hand you some keys ...

Sheer Tantrum, ‘The Master Builder’: Once Upon a Time There Was a Crack in a Chimney

The New Theatre, Dublin

Feb 6-18

My review of Sheer Tantrum’s production of The Master Builder by Henrik Ibsen coming up just as soon as I hang a wreath on a weathervane ...

Gúna Nua and Civic Theatre, ‘The Goddess of Liberty’: Madame O Diva

Project Arts Centre Cube, Dublin

Jan 31-Feb 18

My review of The Goddess of Liberty by Karen Ardiff coming up just as soon as I talk to a middling actor man from America ...

ABSOLUT Fringe and Project Arts Centre give us Turn Around

THEATREclub’s sonorous and rompous The Family finished its run this weekend at Project Arts Centre, thus leaving a void in our lives as we await that rare contemporary theatre piece unbound by convention until our Fringe overdose in September.

Thankfully, both the Fringe and Project will be making the wait easier as they announced last week their Turn Around season. In April we will be reunited with five Fringe shows from the past. The release states fringes, so it’s possible we’ll see productions not just from last year but the 2010 and 2009 festivals as well. The Final selected five haven’t been revealed yet but it’s fun to speculate.

So I pose the question: if you could bring back five Fringe productions – whether to relive something you loved or rewrite the past and see what you had previously missed – what would they be?

Here are mine:

THEATREclub and Project Arts Centre, ‘The Family’: We Begin and End With a Family

Project Arts Centre Upstairs, Dublin

Jan 17-28

My review of The Family (with spoilers) coming up just as soon as I see Mrs. Green on Sunday for book club …

Thoughts on Irish Times Theatre Awards Nominations 2011

The nominations are in for the Irish Times Theatre Awards 2011 (to be held Feb 26), and the details are here. I think this year’s shortlist is a good reflection of the work produced. Here are some general thoughts:
 

When you’re right, you’re right

I agree with the judges’ comments about how 2011 was great for design, direction, but not writing. Pat Kinevane and Mark O’Halloran earned their places here. Haven’t seen the others.

… and I was right!

Misterman a heavy contender in the tech categories is not surprising. What I did predict successfully was that Pan Pan’s Aedín Cosgrove would be giving them some competition.
 

We all need to go north

The Lyric is obviously a force to be reckoned with, with 5 nominations for Conall Morrison’s The Crucible.
 

The Male of the Species: Commedia Action Man

I can’t comment on Patrick O’Kane but the rest sounds right. Really happy to see Philip Judge get the nod, and while I sorely missed Man of Valour from what I hear Reid was phenomenal.  In the Supporting category I’ve only seen John Olohan but Phelim Drew as violent Saranzo in The Making of ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore comes to mind.
 

The Female of the Species: Amy Conroy has arrived

I didn’t see Conroy in the role she’s been nominated for but the disarming I ♥ Alice ♥ I (bound for the Peacock Jan 30) along with consensual praise in press indicate that she’s a hot ticket at the moment. It’s an obvious move to nominate a Tony winner, and while Marie Mullen had her moment (singular), I’d remove her from the list on the basis that Testament just wasn’t good. Insert one of Selina Cartmell’s leads (Camille O’Sullivan and Kate Stanley Brennan), or Pineapple’s Caoilfhionn Dunne instead. As for Supporting Actress, great recognition for Karen Ardiff but Caitriona Ní Mhurchú (who I am a big fan of), along with every other performer in 16 Possible Glimpses, was squandered due to no fault of their own. What about The Making of ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore’s Cathy Belton, Derbhle Crotty for Corcadorcha’s The Winter’s Tale, or Bairbre Ní Chaoimh for her intimate performance in Laundry instead.  

What’s Missing?

Would Neil Watkins and The Year of Magical Wanking have been considered for last year’s nominations or this years’? Either way, why the hell isn’t he here? As for The Blue Boy and Follow, I imagine their best chance of getting in here would probably have been through the tech categories but those are flooded with Misterman nominations.  Drat.
 

What’s going to win?

You tell me.

Úna McKevitt, ‘565+’: The Woman Who Walked Into Theatre

Project Arts Centre, Dublin

Jan 12-14

My review of 565+ coming up just as soon as I give Sam Shepherd a thumbs up …