theatre

Why not a loyalist woman as the symbol of the ‘new Ireland’? Why not Bessie Burgess?

| Readers 6195

I was in Galway last month to see the brilliant production by the Druid theatre company of Sean O’Casey’s classic play set during the 1916 Rising: The Plough and the Stars. This is the tragic story of Jack Clitheroe, who abandons his young wife Nora to fight with the Irish Citizen Army: he is killed and she goes mad with grief. But it is also a fabulous comedy performed by the inhabitants of a poverty-stricken Dublin tenement, led by a raucous, drunken …

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The Alternative – where does the power lie, who knows best, will anyone ask let alone listen? (Fishamble’s A Play For Ireland at Lyric Theatre until Sunday 13 October)

| Readers 755

Oisín Kearney and Michael Patrick’s playful counterfactual uses referendum concepts and lexicon – familiar from both Scotland’s indyref and the EU vote – to open up a conversation about who knows what is best for the people of Ireland, whether those who represent us actually listen to our views before making decisions, and ultimately where power lies in a society swayed by soundbite.

The Alternative – what if Ireland was still part of the UK and an in/out referendum was to be held tomorrow? (Lyric Theatre from 8 October)

| Readers 2923

Speaking to The Alternative’s co-writer Michael Patrick about new counterfactual play The Alternative – Fishamble’s winning A Play For Ireland – which is set in an Ireland that is still part of the United Kingdom, but on the eve of an in/out referendum. Live from the studios of BBC Dublin, it’s the final leaders’ debate the night before the poll … In the Lyric Theatre from 8-13 October.

Michelle & Arlene: Ulster Says Snow … making political satire out of stasis (Accidental Theatre, 6/7/13 December)

| Readers 1200

The fourth in the series of Michelle and Arlene satirical plays – Ulster Says Snow! – is due to hit the stage of Accidental Theatre in Belfast’s Shaftesbury Square next week. Running alongside the Human Rights Festival, Rosemary Jenkinson hopes that this new show can explore many different rights, rather than just being a narrow snapshot of local politics.

Review: Michelle & Arlene – two game politicians flip flop after staying in close contact over summer

| Readers 684

What would it take for a Northern Ireland politician to change their mind on one of any number of intractable issues? A satirical play finds out what might happen if Arlene Foster and Michelle O’Neill spent time away together and faced up to some of the policy issues that divide their parties and stall political progress. Accidental Theatre produce Rosemary Jenkinson’s Rapid Response play.

Michelle & Arlene – a fine foemance on a satirical trip away (24-26 August)

| Readers 914

NEW DRAMA by Rosemary Jenkinson taking a satirical look at the state of local politics. Pantomime, pantyhose, and politics in this fictional imagining of two leaders who keep bumping into each other on Ibiza. “In spite of their initial hostility, it’s almost as if they are fated to be closer than they ever thought possible!” (Accidental Theatre, 24-26 August)

Entitled – “What theatre should be – critical and a little bit political” (The MAC until Sat 18 + tour)

| Readers 385

ENTITLED – Entitled to benefits? Dignity? Protection? A new play asks how much difference the welfare reform mitigations make on the ground? How fair are the processes? How do politicians square up their talk about equality and adoration of figures like Winifred Carney with the legacy of welfare reform in Northern Ireland? The MAC, SCORE, Sean Hollywood Arts Centre and The Playhouse.

Review – Green and Blue – a thoughtful and respectful dramatisation of border policing

| Readers 1130

GREEN AND BLUE is a thoughtful and respectful dramatisation of oral history, illuminating life of officers and their families. While there are many moments of laughter throughout, it’s not all levity: the performance doesn’t shy away from the deadly aspects of Troubles policing, and the mounting personal trauma of policing terrorism and being terrorised, of shooting being shot at.

Belfast Festival preview – Casement, Cooper and Chekhov (11-29 October) #BelFest

| Readers 286

QUICK PREVIEW of the Ulster Bank Belfast International Arts Festival which runs from 11-29 October. The life and legacy of Roger Casement is examined, along with 100 years of women’s emancipation, the refugee crisis (with a lecture by MP Yvette Cooper on how the UK should do more), Aeschylus’ The Suppliant Women, a new adaptation of Chekhov’s Three Sisters by Lucy Caldwell, a play about RUC and Garda officers patrolling the border and three concerts by the flamboyant Taylor Mac.

1916-2016 play Rebellion has its premiere in Glasgow…

| Readers 632

Worth a mention, given the day that’s in it. One of our bloggers Phil Mac Giolla Bhain has just ended a short run of his play Rebellion in his native Glasgow. Rebellion is themed around the rediscovery of a family history tracing one Glaswegian family back several generations to the 1916 Rising. Former Herald journo, Robbie Dinwoodie was there on Monday, I think… Elements which appealed to these Glasgow audiences, particularly the Rangers-supporting character who is the butt of many …

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Dave Duggan’s DENIZEN – a dissident republican addresses the court – drama performed in an actual courtroom

| Readers 770

The word ‘denizen’ conjures up the notion of a citizen, yet perhaps one with fewer rights or living somewhere that isn’t home. It’s also the title of Dave Duggan’s new play, a courtroom drama written in verse which opens in the north west this weekend and will be performed in two courthouses. Interviewed last week, the playwright told me: The conceit in the play is that the judges have given Denizen an hour to speak to the court of public …

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Preview: Stitched Up (by Rosemary Jenkinson): a play asking how difficult is it to be moral in contemporary society?

| Readers 387

With NHS cuts, closures and scandals never out of the news, health minister Jim Wells may need to cross his fingers that a piece of theatre by Rosemary Jenkinson stays on the Lyric Theatre’s stage and doesn’t end up on his desk in weeks to come. Directed by C21 Theatre Company’s Stephen Kelly, Stitched Up is a one act play starring Richard Clements as an NHS surgeon Aidan who has turned whistleblower in order to try to clear his name …

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More Than A Flag – East Belfast bandsmen poignantly look back at WW1 as the audience see potential #BelFest

| Readers 1305

Twelve young guys who couldn’t be much older than twenty. Most with no acting experience. Some haven’t been in a theatre never mind standing on a stage. Bandsmen. Proud of their community, proud of their culture and their flag. Often derided, stereotyped, and written off. Over the last couple of months, Dan Gordon has realised a long held dream and produced More Than A Flag, a powerful piece of community arts by Happenstance Theatre that will be premièred in the …

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Schaubühne’s “An Enemy of the People” – an incredible political thriller coming to Belfast Festival #BelFest

| Readers 324

Dirty politics, abandoned loyalties, live music, paint thrown around and questions about the role of individuals and the state … The plot of An Enemy of the People could be a big screen thriller in the cinema. Instead this is probably the best of a new generation of theatre that will play on the island of Ireland this year, courtesy of the Belfast Festival. It’s also the only time you’ll ever see a paint fight in the Grand Opera House. …

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