I found this amazing piece on You Tube written by Samual Beckett, and it is performed by Becketts close friend and colleague, Jackie MacGowran. Both the writing and the performance are equally memorizing and well worth a look. It is both tragic and hilarious, my personal favorite is when he gets onto sucking stones.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
There are a load of people I know that could not give a fuck about Shakespeare and I understand where they are coming from. In this day and age, why the fuck would you put yourself through 2 or 3 hours of dialogue that you cant understand. It makes you feel stupid, it makes you feel like you don't understand your own language. I was like that going through school, and I hated it. I was dragged kicking and screaming to productions my whole life and hated every minute of it. I couldn't understand what all the fuss was about until I was about fifteen, when Shakespeare productions were starting to work for me. I could identify with them.
All of a sudden, that Baz Lurman Romeo & Juliet came out and people started paying a bit attention to Shakespeare, I started reading it for fuck sake. It was being done in a way that our generstion could relate to. It was like the lines were being said in a way that we could understand, well, for me any way. Not that it was modern, that wasn't it. It was being done in a different style. I remember seeing a production of Henry the Fourth Part 1 in the Peacock Theatre about ten years ago and feeling the same way. The actors and the directors were doing something different with it. All of a sudden, I was into this shit because it wasn't shit. I couldn't get enough of it
I have uploaded a production of the Royal Shakespeare Company's MacBeth, shot in the Roundhouse in Camden in London back in 2001, I remember seeing it for the first time with my oul'fella, he was researching the role of the porter which is particularly amazing in this production. I cant believe it's on you tube, I just had to put it up. As soon as I saw it, I just had to put it up. Check this out for a master class on how to do Shakespeare. You will love it
All of a sudden, that Baz Lurman Romeo & Juliet came out and people started paying a bit attention to Shakespeare, I started reading it for fuck sake. It was being done in a way that our generstion could relate to. It was like the lines were being said in a way that we could understand, well, for me any way. Not that it was modern, that wasn't it. It was being done in a different style. I remember seeing a production of Henry the Fourth Part 1 in the Peacock Theatre about ten years ago and feeling the same way. The actors and the directors were doing something different with it. All of a sudden, I was into this shit because it wasn't shit. I couldn't get enough of it
I have uploaded a production of the Royal Shakespeare Company's MacBeth, shot in the Roundhouse in Camden in London back in 2001, I remember seeing it for the first time with my oul'fella, he was researching the role of the porter which is particularly amazing in this production. I cant believe it's on you tube, I just had to put it up. As soon as I saw it, I just had to put it up. Check this out for a master class on how to do Shakespeare. You will love it
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Check my Fringe
It’s that time of year again where budding writers, directors, actors, performers and theatre companies are giving the chance to show the city of Dublin exactly what they’re made of in this years Absolute Fringe Festival. I haven’t done the Fringe Festival in years, I have always been working as a stage manager on one of the shows so I would pretty much miss the lot, but this year, I’m gonna dole it up to the max and hit the Fringe with every penny that the social welfare gives me. I reckon that will get me a healthy amount of shows in, especially if I add the oul’rent allowance in there too, I am gonna wax the lot.
The one thing that probably everyone can remember about last year’s Fringe, whether you knew it was a part of the Fringe or not, it was quite hard to have missed Fergal MacCatty’s Liffeytown. If that still doesn’t mean anything to you, it was the art installation which involved giant Monopoly houses and hotels on the Liffey for the duration of the festival. This year, the same artist is back and, again, his piece involves his muse, Anna Liffey. The piece is called No Man’s Land and takes place between Sean O'Casey Bridge and Samuel Beckett Bridge for the next 2 weeks. I believe it involves the man himself, Fergal MacCatty, living in a tent under a palm tree on a desert island which will have been constructed in the Liffey. A lot more David Blaine than David Lachappelle this year, but I reckon I’m defo checking it out.
One show I’ll not be missing for sure is the Corn Exchange show, Man of Valour. As always the creative team of Michael West & Annie Ryan put together a piece with actor, Paul Reid, that I’m sure will be the highlight of the festival. I have heard through the grapevine that Corn Exchange since taking home a shit load of awards last January for their massive hit, Freefall, they have had their Arts Council grant severely cut which is nothing less than an absolute disgrace. You’d think that when an independent, cut edge theatre company nail a show that is not only successful critically but also has commercial success both here and abroad, you’d think they would be celebrated by the arts council and looked after, but sadly not. Check this show out, Man of Valour, if you’re going to anything, you can pretty much guarantee it’s gonna be slickly done.
There are some other ones I reckon I have to check out – Spilt Gin’s ‘You Can’t Just Leave — There’s Always Something’, they will be meeting with punters at the Nassau Street entrance of Trinity and then once everyone has arrived, you are brought to a secret location for the show. This is definitely one I’m gonna check out.
There is that Paperdolls thing down in the Complex in Smithfield that might be interesting, dancing ladies with moving colourful sets, shit loads of elusion, sounds like a good time to me. If spoken word is your thing, ‘Three Men Talking About Things They Kinda Know About in the International Bar should be sweet. Three men. Different histories. Same shit’ – nice tagline. It’s also directed by former X Bel Air director, Sarah Brennan, back where she should be, directing shows. Damian Kearney also does is one man show, The Flamboyant Bird in Smock Alley which I’d say will be well worth a watch.
Other things I’m looking forward to checking out are all these new venues that are springing up all over Dublin, there are so many that I haven’t been in. So I’m gonna try and get around to all these new spaces, places like The Back Loft, The Lir Theatre, and The Pearce Centre.
All in all, I’m gonna engross myself in the independent arts for the next two weeks and I strongly advise everyone else to do the same. Yes, you will probably encounter some horribly portentous crap on your travels, but you know what, that’s what it’s all about, I find that shit fuckin funny. I’m looking forward to shaking my head at some seriously self indulgent nonsense over the next while. I’m looking forward to it as much as I can’t wait to encounter some piece of quality that was wasn’t quite expecting. It’s been a while since I’ve done the Fringe and this year is my year. Bring it on.
The one thing that probably everyone can remember about last year’s Fringe, whether you knew it was a part of the Fringe or not, it was quite hard to have missed Fergal MacCatty’s Liffeytown. If that still doesn’t mean anything to you, it was the art installation which involved giant Monopoly houses and hotels on the Liffey for the duration of the festival. This year, the same artist is back and, again, his piece involves his muse, Anna Liffey. The piece is called No Man’s Land and takes place between Sean O'Casey Bridge and Samuel Beckett Bridge for the next 2 weeks. I believe it involves the man himself, Fergal MacCatty, living in a tent under a palm tree on a desert island which will have been constructed in the Liffey. A lot more David Blaine than David Lachappelle this year, but I reckon I’m defo checking it out.
One show I’ll not be missing for sure is the Corn Exchange show, Man of Valour. As always the creative team of Michael West & Annie Ryan put together a piece with actor, Paul Reid, that I’m sure will be the highlight of the festival. I have heard through the grapevine that Corn Exchange since taking home a shit load of awards last January for their massive hit, Freefall, they have had their Arts Council grant severely cut which is nothing less than an absolute disgrace. You’d think that when an independent, cut edge theatre company nail a show that is not only successful critically but also has commercial success both here and abroad, you’d think they would be celebrated by the arts council and looked after, but sadly not. Check this show out, Man of Valour, if you’re going to anything, you can pretty much guarantee it’s gonna be slickly done.
There are some other ones I reckon I have to check out – Spilt Gin’s ‘You Can’t Just Leave — There’s Always Something’, they will be meeting with punters at the Nassau Street entrance of Trinity and then once everyone has arrived, you are brought to a secret location for the show. This is definitely one I’m gonna check out.
There is that Paperdolls thing down in the Complex in Smithfield that might be interesting, dancing ladies with moving colourful sets, shit loads of elusion, sounds like a good time to me. If spoken word is your thing, ‘Three Men Talking About Things They Kinda Know About in the International Bar should be sweet. Three men. Different histories. Same shit’ – nice tagline. It’s also directed by former X Bel Air director, Sarah Brennan, back where she should be, directing shows. Damian Kearney also does is one man show, The Flamboyant Bird in Smock Alley which I’d say will be well worth a watch.
Other things I’m looking forward to checking out are all these new venues that are springing up all over Dublin, there are so many that I haven’t been in. So I’m gonna try and get around to all these new spaces, places like The Back Loft, The Lir Theatre, and The Pearce Centre.
All in all, I’m gonna engross myself in the independent arts for the next two weeks and I strongly advise everyone else to do the same. Yes, you will probably encounter some horribly portentous crap on your travels, but you know what, that’s what it’s all about, I find that shit fuckin funny. I’m looking forward to shaking my head at some seriously self indulgent nonsense over the next while. I’m looking forward to it as much as I can’t wait to encounter some piece of quality that was wasn’t quite expecting. It’s been a while since I’ve done the Fringe and this year is my year. Bring it on.
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