A new play we started developing during In The Future When All’s Well will get its first developmental airing later this week at Play On as part of Dublin Theatre Festival.
War Of Attrition is a new play written by John Morton which we started work on during our residency in Kilkenny Arts Office last year. Over a few weeks, John and Angela Barrett devised the piece as a very physical comic two hander but after much subsequent work the play took shape as a three person play with a much more destructive outlook. It still remains a dark comedy about accountability, competition and the battle for a better life in modern day Ireland. The story focuses on an escalating feud that threatens to destroy the lives of those involved and that’s all we can really say, because it’s not finished yet! The play was initially designed as a new piece of work for us to perform and right now, we’re still hoping to do that. We’ve got an eye on a 2013 start date but we’re some ways off making any announcements yet.
In the meantime, the play itself keeps developing. Apart from his current involvement on the theatre festival’s The Next Stage programme, John is also a participant on the inaugural Play On playwriting initiative from Dublin Theatre Festival and used the opportunity to further develop War Of Attrition. Play On is facilitated by Graham Whybrow (former Literary Manager of the Royal Court) and it aims to get new Irish plays written that address contemporary concerns. The play has been selected, along with 5 others, to represent the Play On programme in a series of rehearsed readings in Project Arts Centre this Tuesday and Wednesday. War Of Attrition is being directed by Jason Byrne and a portion of the piece will be performed this Wednesday October 10th at 1pm. The event is free but booking is advised. You can book tickets on the Dublin Theatre Festival website and also at their box office on 01 677 8899.
We’ll continue developing War Of Attrition over the winter months and you may be seeing John’s follow up to last years Scratcher hit the stage sometime in 2013. If you want a sneak preview, you can catch it this Wednesday.
