Theatre Review: Best Man in the @ProjectArts Theatre

bestman1

Performances in the Project Arts Theatre can be hit and miss. The very experimental nature of the space means that I’ve seen some amount of self-indulgent tripe mixed in with some brilliantly innovative, insightful plays. In the past two weeks, I’ve had a lot of luck. Last week, I finally caught Mark O’Rowe’s Howie the Rookie, a two-act two-monologue play of an urban Dublin odyssey. The Howie starts the story and the Rookie finishes it out. Both parts are played by Love/Hate’s Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and it truly was an acting masterclass. That’s how it’s supposed to be done. This week, the Project was transported to boomtime Ireland for Carmel Winters’ Best Man. Actually, it’s something of a cliched tale, where the suburbanite couple (one breadwinner, one stay-at-home spouse) bring in a hot, foreign nanny to look after their emotionally neglected children, leading to sexual tension and the re-evaluation of all … There’s more

Reunion at the New Theatre, Dublin

Reunion is a one-man show performed by Daniel Reardon adapted for the stage for the first time by Ronan Wilmot, from the autobiographical novella by Fred Uhlman. This is a story of two sixteen year old boys and their time together in the early 1930s at Karl Alexander Gymnasium in Stuttgart, as narrated 40 years later by Hans Schwartz, a now successful German-American Jewish lawyer. Having been asked to contribute to a memorial to his former classmates who died during the Second World War, Hans revists the story of his school friendship in the early days of Hitler’s rise and growing anti-semitism. This is a nice play, with a story that grips you and a poignant and surprising end. Good for people who like history; the Holocaust; mis-lit; or just a good story, told well. And if you haven’t been before, the New Theatre is a great theatre experience. Reunion … There’s more

Be My Love in the Rain – Charity Performances

You could do worse this weekend than treat yourself to the brilliant Be My Love in the Rain. I saw this one woman show earlier this year and really loved it. Written by Paul Kennedy and performed by the terrific Linda Teehan, it is an exciting new Irish play set in contemporary Dublin that explores issues around love, loss and mental illness. Fire & Ice Theatre Company are proud to present two benefit performances of Be My Love in the Rain with all proceeds going to the cancer ward at St. Luke’s. The two performance evenings will take place at 8pm on the 22nd and 23rd of October in the United Arts Club, 3 Upper Fitzwilliam St., Dublin 2. There will be no cover charge but guests will have the option of donating whatever amount they wish to the cause. It’s a girl’s night out Janet and her friends are … There’s more

Twelve Days in May

A Play by Frank Allen Liberty Hall, Dublin 1 at 8pm nightly Tickets 20euro, runs til November 28th Only 3 days left of Twelve Days in May It was recommended to me to go see this before it closed. So I checked it out last night. Going on a day when public sector strikes were happening all over the country seemed most appropriate because this play was about James Connolly during, you guessed it, 12 days in may of 1916.

Adolf Hitler, Alive and Well in the Tivoli Theatre

Let me start by saying I wasn’t particularly looking forward to seeing Adolf tonight. The brief description I had read lead me to believe I was going to see a one man psychobabble drama about Hitler’s final hours. I was dubious to say the least, but I was pleasantly surprised at the range of emotions Pip Utton’s play dragged me through. Writer and actor Pip Utton has been performing his one man play Adolf for over ten years. It’s travelled the globe to great reviews and some controversy along the way. The opening half is an angry, engaging rant from Hitler’s bunker as he says his final goodbyes and talks about his lasting legacy. Though it drags at times, repeating itself and contradicting itself in places, it is a gripping piece of theatre, performed by an eerily Hitler-like Utton. As this portion of the play concludes, there is some applause, … There’s more

New Theatre: Do You Like It Rough?

Well, the Dublin Theatre Festival has passed and you either missed it all or had your appetite whetted for new theatre. Either way, November sees the start of the Rough Magic AIB SEEDS Showcase. The Rough Magic AIB SEEDS Programme is a pioneering initiative to Seek out, Enable, Encourage, Develop and Stage (see what they did there) the work of a new generation of theatre talent. The upcoming showcase will feature 7 AIB SEEDS Artists staging two productions and two new play readings at Project Arts Centre, Templebar, from 6th to the 14th November. The two productions, Dying City by Christopher Shinn and Serious Money by Caryl Churchill, are directed by Des Kennedy and Aoife Spillane-Hinks. Sets and costumes will be designed by Alyson Cummins, while Producer Lara Hickey and Production Manager (and part-time Culchie) Eoin Kilkenny will be working across the two shows.

Setanta Murphy at The New Theatre

Last night I took in the play ‘Setanta Murphy’ at The New Theatre in Templebar. The play stars Luke Griffin and Garrett Keogh, the writer and director. The story is about the relationship between the nephew and the uncle, about their father/brother and his death, and the impact of that upon the both of them. There are many funny moments, also very touching ones. The second act of the play deals with the uncle being in the hospital after a medical emergency, and the end game of life. I was rather affected by the play having seen my mother go through that stage. The play is well written and performed, and I recommend seeing it while its on, through October 24th. The theatre is in back of Connolly Books at 43 East Essex street. http://www.thenewtheatre.com/ This is a short video clip about the play:

Conor McPherson’s “The Birds” at the Gate Theatre

When asked during his Culture Night Q&A if he was afraid of the reaction of people who had come along to see the play expecting to see a version of the movie made for the stage, playwright Conor McPherson laughed and admitted “Not until now.“ From the celebrated author of such masterworks as Rebecca, Jamaica Inn and My Cousin Rachel, comes Daphne Du Maurier’s enthralling gothic tale of mystery and suspense. Immortalised by Alfred Hitchcock in his legendary film and now re-imagined in a chilling new adaptation by acclaimed Irish playwright Conor McPherson (The Weir, Dublin Carol, Come On Over, Port Authority and Shining City), The Birds is an unrelenting and spellbinding portrait of terror and alienation. His new play, a production of Daphne DuMaurier’s short story The Birds is currently showing at the Gate Theatre as part of the Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival and it’s as far away … There’s more

Interview: Broken Croí/Heart Briste, a bilingual play at ABSOLUT FRINGE

What it’s called: Broken Croí/Heart Briste Where it is: Filmbase, Temple Bar When it is: 7pm every evening until Saturday, September 19 How long it is: 40 mins How much it is: €16 or €13 I sat down with the cast – Manchán Mangan and Eva O Connor – after this play in Gaeilge and English to find out how it developed and how the run was going for them: You can read my review and more about the play below.

Sebastian Barry talks about Tales of Ballycumber, coming to the Abbey Theatre

‘Here, now listen, I’ll tell you a tale…’ The next major play to hit the Abbey Stage, from Wednesday 30 September, is Sebastian Barry’s Tales of Ballycumber. (Darren has already given tickets away.) This play, a world premiere by the twice Booker-nominated author of The Secret Scripture (the Hughes & Hughes Irish Novel of the Year 2009 and winner of the 2008 Costa Book of the Year Award) is part of this year’s Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival. Featuring Aaron Monaghan, Derbhle Crotty, Dessie Gallagher and Stephen Rea and directed by David Leveaux, the play – “stirring the ghosts of a past fraught with sorry, isolation and emptiness” – is in previews 30 September and Thursday 1, Friday 2, Saturday 3, Monday 5 and Tuesday 6 October and then runs from the 7 to Saturday 7 November. Ticket prices for previews from €18 and for the evening shows from €25. … There’s more

Review: Red Lola at the Mill Street Studios, part of ABSOLUT Fringe

Ever watched a play that you’re not entirely sure what’s going on for most of it, where the unexpected keeps on happening, where you’re laughing but you shouldn’t and where you come out thinking “Wow, that was good”? Well, that was Red Lola for me. Asylum Theatre brought their show – a sold-out run at the Cork Midsummer Festival – to the Mill Street Studios for the past week and Saturday was the first chance we had to see it. I’m very glad we did. While the blurb is just that bit extreme: Red Lola just left grandma’s house and strayed right off the path. Red Lola’s not a little girl anymore. Red Lola lives in a land where pre-teenage girls wear Playboy tee-shirts, and every male is a potential predator, where premature sexuality and the fear of ‘stranger danger’ collide. Red Lola is a surreal and darkly comic journey … There’s more

Guest Post: Swings and Roundabouts

Please say hello to lilbitz, who has been good enough to put together a guest post for Culch.ie. We talk about the big movies, the best shows and the greatest gigs, but rarely do we touch on things for kids to do. Lilbitz looks at things for you do do with your children today. – Darren So the babymoon is over. He’s long gone back to work. You’ve finally figured out how to get you and baby out of the house relatively clean at the same time. Its raining as usual but you’ve got to get out of the house. The shopping centre has lost its lustre but the insurmountable mountain of housework for which you suddenly seem to have acquired sole responsibility isn’t going anywhere so the only option is to leave on an important mission. Now, where do you go? I’ve been frequenting playcentres around Dublin for over … There’s more

Dario Fo and Devious Theatre Company

The prolific Devious Theatre Company announced yesterday that they will be doing yet another production before the end of the year, and this less than two weeks after the end of their last production, a very successful and enjoyable run of Willy Russell’s Stags and Hens. The ever more ambitious guys and gals have decided to do not just a play, but a season of plays by author, Dario Fo. Dario Fo is an italian Nobel prize-winning playwright, satirist, director, actor and composer. A very accomplished fellow to say the least. And now the lads at Devious Theatre will perform two of his plays, the first in December 2009 and the second in early 2010. First up is ‘Accidental Death of an Anarchist’- after the apparent suicide of an anarchist from a fourth floor police HQ window, the policemen involved are having difficulties remembering the details of the event. That … There’s more

The Rivals at the Abbey Theatre. Review and competition.

“Another day, another play, another play, another day? Though set in the Georgian age, will it speak to a digital age? Can it hold the contemporary stage?” On Friday evening last I saw the latest play to grace the stage at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin. The Rivals by R.B. Sheridan is running until September 19. All I can say to start this post is go see it. Rather than a wordy review at the start, let me share with you what some of the people at the play thought when I spoke to them afterwards: Thanks to the Abbey, I have 3 pairs of tickets to give away to the performance on Friday 7 August at 19:30. Just leave a comment below to enter. I’d love people who haven’t been to the Abbey Theatre before or in ages to get them but if you’re creative in your comments, you never … There’s more

Competition: Stags and Hens

The upcoming Kilkenny Devious Theatre Company production of Stags and Hens has been long awaited with much excitement. Set between the male and female toilets of a dingy Liverpool nightclub, Stags and Hens tells the story of Linda and Dave’s last night of freedom before they marry the next day. Dave has just crashed into the pub, absolutely legless with his sick splattered mates yanking him straight to the gents. Linda, meanwhile, just wants to dance away her doubts about the impending nuptials. So this would be a very bad time for an old flame to show up. Now, thanks to the very good folks at The Devious Theatre Company, Kilkenny, Culch.ie are giving away a night at the theatre in Kilkenny. We’ve got two tickets to this Friday night’s performance of the show, that’s this Friday July 24th, plus two signed copies of the show’s colour-tastic glossy promo poster … There’s more