ARTSCAPE: CINEMA IS the new theatre, writes Sara Keating. London's National Theatre launched a landmark initiative last Thursday with a live broadcast of Ted Hughes's relentless translation of Racine's Phèdre, directed by Nicholas Hytner and starring Helen Mirren, at 200 cinemas all over the world, including four in Ireland.
There was especial Irish interest in this production, which co-stars Stanley Townsend and Ruth Negga, and features set design by Bob Crowley. Tickets to screenings in the Irish Film Institute and cinemas in Dundrum, Swords and Dungarvan were sold out.
The screening was introduced by Jeremy Irons and Hytner himself, who talked about how the five cameras in the auditorium would "pick up what an audience member might focus in on on any given night". The directed gaze proved a little too intimate for this viewer, however, and the fever pitch of performances did not translate well to the screen. In Dundrum, the largest 330-seat cinema was full to capacity, and audience applause matched that of the rapturous ovation on London's South Bank. Downstairs, in the smaller screen 12, however, the audience sat silently, as if waiting for the credits to roll. The NT Live series continues with three other screenings: Marianne Eliot's production of Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Wellon the October 1st, and productions of Nation by Terry Pratchett and The Habit of Artby Alan Bennett in the new year. www.nationaltheatre.org.uk
Bearing witness
"Taking off your shoes to put on the shoes of the other is so important," says Eamonn Deane, director of the Holywell Trust, a Derry-based organisation involved in community development and peace building, writes Jane Coyle.The trust is one of the partners in the Theatre of Witness Programme, a two-year EU Peace III-funded project, which has been put in place by the Derry Playhouse.
Theatre of Witness was developed 20 years ago in the USA by dancer and trained counsellor Teya Sepinuck. In Derry to work in collaboration with the Playhouse, she envisioned a form of theatrical performance that gives voice to people who have been marginalised or ignored in society.
She has witnessed encounters involving victims and perpetrators of domestic violence, refugees from Vietnam and Cambodia, homeless people, Holocaust survivors, teenage runaways, prisoners and immigrants. The aim is to explore issues of personal accountability, guilt, healing, restorative justice, forgiveness and reconciliation.
A group of six people from both sides of the Border are beginning to share their experiences from the past 40 years. In October, they will personally tell their stories in a performance that will include original music by Brian Irvine and screen images by film-maker John McIlduff. Three are young people – one whose father was in prison, another whose father was killed and a third whose father was in the security forces. The older participants come from a mixture of republican, loyalist and police backgrounds and would previously never have shared a room, let alone long-hidden secrets.
“We are crying out for whatever can help ease the pain and hurt of the past,” explains Pauline Ross, director of the Playhouse, who discovered Theatre of Witness through her vast network of international artists. She describes Sepinuck as “a safe, sensitive and sympathetic pair of hands”.
“Listening to people who are survivors of the Holocaust or Cambodia is just as horrendous,” says Sepinuck. “What’s different about Derry is that everyone knows everyone and is connected to each other. They walk the same streets.”
Twenty-three-year-old Barry (not his real name) says that this is probably the hardest thing he’s ever had to do but admits to having been surprised by some of the early outcomes. “I never expected sympathy or understanding from a loyalist or a policeman,” he says. “Then again, I never expected to have sympathy or understanding for them. It’s a struggle at the moment, but nobody can speak for me. We’ll get there in the end.”
The performance will be entitled We Carried Your Secrets. It will open at the Playhouse on October 21st, run for four nights and then tour to eight cross-Border venues.
* Actor Diarmuid de Faoite and musician Charlie Lennon are among contributors to arts courses as Gaeilge at NUI Galway's (NUIG) Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge, writes Lorna Siggins. De Faoite is drama executive on the two-year part-time course, an ard dioplóma sa drámaíocht, said to be the only programme of its kind on the island. It's run by Seanscoil Shailearna, Indreabhán – also known as Amharclann Cois Fharraige. "We're interested in giving drama practitioners a good all-round knowledge and creative capability in their chosen field," says Marianne Ní Chinnéide, department head and former Siamsa Tíre chief executive.
“To this end all practical modules are taught by industry professionals and are rooted in performance. Even much of the academic work is weighted in the practical too, with essays often revolving around practical, dramatic or educational projects.”
De Faoite points out the course has the industry’s endorsement, with many professional actors signing up. “The Irish-language scene is small enough and friendly enough to be able to mix amateur and professional in a way that is good for both.
“We are able to challenge the professionals creatively while giving amateur performers something very concrete to aspire to. The personal learning outcomes may vary but performance standards are kept high.”
The first ever group of music students from the new dioplóma i gcóiriú agus stáitsiú an cheoil thraidisiúnta (staging and arranging of traditional music) have recently completed their studies. Musicians, singers and dancers are invited to participate in the next programme, run in Charlie Lennon’s studio in Spiddal, Co Galway. It’s a new collaboration between Lennon, Stiúideo Cuan, An Spidéal, and Acadamh’s performing arts unit, and built around a number of concerts through the year. This formula has proved very successful, according to Lennon. “I found that theory in isolation is difficult for the class to understand and remember. However, if one gives the class the opportunity to put concepts into practice without delay, these are very readily incorporated into their thinking.”
Perhaps the greatest accolade for the course has been that it was readily taken up by local professional musicians, he points out. The musicians have been playing to packed venues for each concert and were recently invited to participate in the celebrations for the Volvo Ocean race where they performed their end-of-year show, Tonnta.
Further details are available at acadamh.ie, or from Marianne on 087-9080194 or at Marianne.nichinneide@oegaillimh.ie.
