Bash Final Poster

Sep

30,

2011

This is the final poster for our production of Neil LaBute’s bash: latterday plays which runs from October 17th – 22nd in Cleeres Theatre, Kilkenny.

It showcases the four letter based posters that we’ve released throughout the week, featuring the cast of the play Amy Dunne, Ken McGuire, John Morton and Annette O’Shea.

As usual, the poster design was handled by our wonderfully talented designer Paddy Dunne, who is nearing both the 50 mark and exhaustion when it comes to our posters.

Tickets for bash have just gone on sale in Cleere’s Theatre at the price of €12. Bookings can be made on 056 – 7762573 and of course, online purchases can still be made here.

S

Sep

28,

2011

‘We been doing things so wrong for so long that it all starts to feel okay after a while.’

The third of our bash: latterday plays posters is from medea redux, which will be performed by Annette O’Shea and directed by John Morton.

In medea redux, a woman tells the complex story of an affair with her high school teacher when she was a teenager. Based on the Medea story from Greek mythology, it’s a harrowing and ultimately tragic tale about the lengths people go to keep control of their lives.

bash: latterday plays by Neil LaBute runs from October 17th – 22nd in Cleeres Theatre, Parliament Street, Kilkenny. Tickets are €12 and can be booked in Cleeres on 056 – 7762573. You can buy tickets online right here.

A

Sep

27,

2011

‘But see, in a weird way though, it excited me.’

Our next bash: latterday plays poster is of Amy Dunne playing the part of Sue in a gaggle of saints, which is being directed by Annette O’Shea.

In a gaggle of saints, a young couple tell the events of a violent weekend away in New York City. Loosely based on the Greek myth of Orpheus, it veers unsteadily between the romantic and the horrific as the narrative is recounted by the happy couple.

bash: latterday plays by Neil LaBute runs from October 17th – 22nd in Cleeres Theatre, Parliament Street, Kilkenny. Tickets are €12 and can be purchased in Cleeres and booked on 056 – 7762573. Tickets can be bought online right here.

B

Sep

26,

2011

‘I figured that you’d be a great listener, that you wouldn’t mind if I told you all this.’

Here’s the first of four bash: latterday plays posters that we’ll be releasing over the next four days. Four actors. Four letters. Makes sense, right?

This poster is from iphigenia in orem, which will be performed by John Morton and directed by Ken McGuire.

In iphigenia in orem, a young businessman makes a startling confession to a total stranger in a Las Vegas hotel room. Loosely based the Greek myth of Iphigenia, it paints a compelling picture of what it takes to stay ahead in a cut throat world and the consequences of interfering with fate.

They’re All Marvellous Pretenders

Sep

18,

2011

Neil LaBute’s bash isn’t the only American work we’ve been delving into recently. We’ve been doing a little side project the past couple of weeks, assisting The Keegan Theatre with their current Irish tour of Arthur Miller’s classic fictionalisation of the Salem Witch trials, The Crucible.

The Keegan Theatre are a fantastic company from Washington DC who have been touring Ireland since 1999, usually with the great American classics (conversely, in America they produce a range of new Irish works). Our company has been attending their shows for many years now and it’s always marked a highlight in the theatrical calendar in Kilkenny every year. Back in July, Ger Cody of The Watergate Theatre asked us if we’d consider casting and rehearsing some of the ‘witches’ for the Keegan Theatre’s stop off in Kilkenny. The answer was yes, of course. Apart from getting to utilise our new rehearsal space, it also gave us a very safe opportunity to work on an absolute classic and collaborate with an amazing American company. Win win win situation. It’s the first time that the Keegan Theatre have used Irish actors in their tours and considering the size and scale of The Crucible, it made sense for them to ‘go native’ on this production.

The Kilkenny actresses who are joining The Crucible are Annette O’Shea (Scratcher, Smitten, Bash) as Mercy Lewis, Connie Walsh (Shifting) as Susanna Walcott, Alex Christle (Shifting) as Elizabeth Hubbard and Iseult Cahill as Betty Parris. Iseult has yet to perform with us but considering she’s only 10 and really talented, it’s only a matter of time. She’s got a very professional scream, for sure.

We’ve been rehearsing the past couple of weeks and this weekend we took a trip to Galway to meet the Keegan troupe on the first leg of their tour and rehearse with them. We got to see the show itself on Friday night and it’s a fantastic production of the play: intense, emotional, surprisingly funny and fast paced despite its near 3 hour running time. It’s been my favourite play since I was a teenager (and I’m not even a huge Arthur Miller fan) so that’s an honest accounting. It’s just a brilliant production.

The girls have been working hard the past few weeks and were put through their paces yesterday in The Town Hall Theatre, Galway. They’re slotting in really well and have nailed the accents (Alex has no excuse, she’s American) so yes, in the words of John Proctor they’re marvellous pretenders indeed. Now they’re primed to take the opening bow in the Watergate Theatre tomorrow night for the first of 6 performances this week. We’ve been delighted to help out with the production and it’s been fantastic to work with The Keegan Theatre on it.

Do yourself a favour and catch the show if you can. It’s one of the most epic productions in the Watergate Theatre in a long time and it’s well worth experiencing a huge American cast (and some Irish girls) do justice to such an epic piece of American theatre.

Just watch out for the birds on the rafters.

John

The Crucible runs 19th – 24th September with matinee shows at 11am on the 21st/22nd. Tickets can be bought at The Watergate Theatre box office or booked on 056 – 7761674.

Announcing bash: latterday plays

Sep

2011

Our next production will be bash: latterday plays by Neil LaBute.

We’re massive fans of the work of Neil LaBute and have been waiting many years to stage one of his plays in Kilkenny. We are delighted to finally do so when bash runs in the intimate confines of Cleere’s Theatre from October 17th – 22nd.

bash was first performed in 1999. It became quickly renowned for its shocking and unflinching portrayals of everyday evil with the New York Times calling it ‘insistently brutal’. Like much of LaBute’s work, it exposes the dark and sinister undercurrents of clean cut middle American life. The play was considered so shocking at the time that LaBute was disfellowshipped by the Church Of Latter Day Saints, of whom the characters in bash are members.

The play consists of 3 stories with a loose basis on Greek mythology, transposed to modern America. Delivered in monologues that are conversational, breezy, natural and ultimately gutwrenching, bash examines the horrific lengths that human beings go to in order to stay in control of their lives.

In iphigenia in orem a young utah businessman recounts a particularly chilling confession to a stranger in a Las Vegas hotel room. It will be performed by John Morton and directed by Ken McGuire.

a gaggle of saints sees a young couple document the violent events of a romantic weekend away in New York. It will be performed by Amy Dunne and Ken McGuire and directed by Annette O’Shea.

In medea redux a young woman tells the ultimately tragic tale about a romance with her high school teacher when she was a teenager. It will be performed by Annette O’Shea and directed by John Morton.

Neil LaBute’s plays include The Shape Of Things, The Mercy Seat, Fat Pig, Wrecks and reasons to be pretty. His film work includes In The Company Of Men, Your Friends And Neighbours, Nurse Betty and Possession.

Neil LaBute’s bash: latterday plays runs in Cleere’s Theatre, Kilkenny from October 17th – 22nd at 8pm nightly. Bookings can be made on 056 – 7762573. Tickets are €12 and are available to buy online now (subject to booking fee).

Beowulf kicks off Kilkenny Arts Festival

Aug

2011

It’s 3 days before the 2011 Kilkenny Arts Festival kicks off and we’re tooling up and readying ourselves for 10 days of hardcore coverage.

The Theatre and Dance strand kicks off in furious style this Friday with the opening of Beowulf – A Thousand Years Of Baggage by Banana Bag Bodice in Set Theatre.

Beowulf is of course the epic English poem (of many a year old) set in the realms of Scandinavian myth. It’s been interpreted by everybody from Seamus Heaney to Robert Zemeckis to Neil Gaiman and it still remains ripe for many new and indeed skewed retellings.

Banana Bag and Bodice are a New York theatre company who make unique plays with a strong leaning towards original text and composed music. They have a huge reputation for invention and indeed, reinvention and their ensemble has picked up many awards since their formation in 1999.

Set Theatre is the perfect venue to transform into a Scandinavian mead hall for what should be a rowdy, rocky and raucous nights entertainment (mind the nice blue seats!). So grab some beer and preferably some whiskey (so they say themselves) and hit Set this weekend for one of the best sessions of the year.

Here’s a sneak peek at what you’re letting yourself in for:

Beowulf – A Thousand Years Of Baggage runs from Friday 5th to Sunday 7th of August at 7pm nightly. Admission is €15/€12 and tickets can be booked here.

5 Hot Tips For The 2011 KAF Theatre & Dance Strand

Jul

15,

2011

This part of the year always comes around so quick… but then again, no harm. At the tail end of every Kilkenny Arts Festival myself and Ken will say to each other ‘Can’t wait for next year’ so maybe it’s a good thing that we don’t need to get impatient. When we’re not making theatre here in Kilkenny, myself and Ken do the online coverage and blogging for Kilkenny Arts Festival in August. This is our third year and we’re exceedingly excited about knuckling into this years festival.

Of course, as men who run a theatre company, we take a particular interest in the Theatre & Dance strand of the festival. After a superlative line up in 2010, this years line up looks to be just as diverse and exciting. It features a nice mix of past performers and debutantes and should be a spread of work that will cater to a wide range of sensibilities.

Here’s 5 hot tips for this years theatre and dance strand:

1. Eileen Walsh is probably the best actress in Ireland

But you already knew that, right? As one of our most decorated and lauded actresses Eileen Walsh is a guarantee of quality in any show she appears in. In the company of Corcadorca, with whom she burst onto the scene with Enda Walsh’s Disco Pigs in the mid 90′s, it’s a surefire recipe for success. After doing the festival rounds in Cork and Galway, Request Programme opens in Kilkenny on the opening day of the festival and sees Walsh give a solo performance in an apartment with a small audience witnessing her every day rituals. The performance takes place in a city apartment so you can imagine the audience is going to be small. For an opportunity to see one of Ireland’s brightest stars in close proximity, we recommend you get tickets for this one very quickly.

2.Not Your Usual Beowulf

Certainly not in the classic sense anyway. New York’s Banana Bag and Bodice theatre company make original theatre using music and a whole lot of mayhem. Their adaptation of the epic poem promises to be a raucous performance featuring a 7 piece band and fusing jazz, rock, punk, electronica and Romantic Lieder. If you want to see how Set Theatre looks as a Scandinavian mead hall then this is the show to book tickets for. And in a strand choc full of shows that are that little bit different, this one still manages to stand out with bloody arms outstretched. There are only going to be 3 performances of Beowulf during the festival so make sure you get tickets for it while you still can because it will likely sell out before word of mouth even has time to travel.

3. ponydance are back!

My own personal favourite of last years festival was ponydance’s amazing where did it all go right in Left Bank. So I am doubly excited that this amazing dance theatre company are making a return to Kilkenny this August. What’s even more amazing is that this is a free show. So you won’t have to pay a penny for what will potentially be the best show of the festival! What you will have to do is book in advance though because these free tickets are not going to wait around for you to pick them up. The show takes place in a slew of Kilkenny venues so expect the versatility and spontaneity that these ‘incorrigible flirts’ (The Irish Times) have become renowned for.

4. Una McKevitt Dishes Out More Reality

After last years festival smash Victor and Gord, Una McKevitt returns with another slice of reality. The Big Deal is a story about two women who knew from a young age that they were born into the wrong bodies. It should prove to be another personal, warm and moving show. Victor and Gord was an immediate word of mouth hit when it opened in Kilkenny last year so I’d expect a lot more of the same with The Big Deal. It takes place in The Barn from August 10th and its nice to see one of Kilkenny’s best and most underutilised venues hosting one of the big shows of the festival.

5. It’s Tom Creed’s Last Festival

Before he moves on to the job of festival director of Cork Midsummer Festival, Tom Creed will be curating the final of his four Kilkenny Arts Festival Theatre & Dance programmes. Since 2008 he has done a fantastic job of gradually moving this strand away from the all too frequent staples of Shakespeare and Beckett and provided theatre audiences with a cornucopia of theatre and dance of different shapes and sizes. Looking back on 4 years of programming, he has done a remarkable job of bringing the best of established and up and coming Irish and international talent to Kilkenny. The buzz around the theatre and dance strand has grown steadily and it’s been hugely satisfying to see the uptake in young people attending shows every year since 2008. It’s safe to say that he has set a precedent that will be a tough act to follow. So do yourself a favour and catch as much of this years theatre & dance programme as you can lest you ever have to dejectedly utter the words ‘I wish I’d seen it when Tom Creed programmed it’ in the future.

John Morton

Moving To A New HQ

Jul

14,

2011

Today’s our last day in Kilkenny Arts Office. We’ve spent the past 2 weeks cleaning up the mess from the end of In The Future When All’s Well. Painting walls, cleaning up sets, organising costumes, cataloging props and generally cleaning the hell out of the place.

After having such a productive 6 months here and having our first taste of regular funding and a roof over our heads, it would have been a real shame to return to our guerrilla ways (key cutting, building hopping, kitchen rehearsing, etc.). But thankfully, thanks to Mary Butler, Kilkenny Arts Officer, we’ve managed to secure a permanent space for ourselves under their new This Is Not An Empty Space scheme. The support we’ve gotten from Kilkenny Arts Office has been nothing short of spectacular and to have our own offices and rehearsal space is the cherry on top of an amazing 6 months.

We’ll now be moving to The Maltings in Tilbury Place, Kilkenny where we previously rehearsed Trainspotting back in 2008. It’s a great premises and we’re glad to be sharing a building with the esteemed company of our compadres Cartoon Saloon and Ross Costigan Photography.

After 5 years of graft, it’s a real reward to now have our own space to plan the next 5 years of graft. We’re excited and delighted and it makes the move out of Kilkenny Arts Office that little bit easier to bear. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank Mary Butler, Niamh Finn and all the staff of Kilkenny County Council for being so supportive of us and giving us so many great opportunities over the last year.

In the future, all is well.

Shifting – Bohemian Rhapsody

Jul

11,

2011

We’re showing off a little bit of our various shows from In The Future When All’s Well online, for both archiving reasons and also… showing them off, really. After putting out a Scratcher piece here, we’re now showing off one of the most popular scenes from Shifting.

It might look like a bunch of drunk teenagers singing Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody and well, yes, it’s just that. For a party set in real time we felt that we needed at least one big, drunk, all encompassing singalong and from our own form we felt that there was no better song to do it to than Bohemian Rhapsody. Yes, it’s been done to death but that’s parties for you, right? Certainly our parties…

This scene opened up the second act of John Kennedy’s Shifting when it played Kilkenny Arts Office from April 18th – 23rd this year.

Bash Final Poster

S

A

B

They’re All Marvellous Pretenders

Announcing bash: latterday plays

Beowulf kicks off Kilkenny Arts Festival

5 Hot Tips For The 2011 KAF Theatre & Dance Strand

Moving To A New HQ

Shifting – Bohemian Rhapsody

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