A NUMBER of Wexford theatre practitioners will take part in a national theatre festival in Dublin next month, including two locals who will see their own, original works performed.
The Smock Allies: Scene + Heard festival takes place in Smock Alley Theatre, Temple Bar from February 17 until March 6, featuring a huge selection of theatre, dance, music and spoken word from all over Ireland.
Local choreographer Vivian Brodie Hayes is one Wexford participant in the show, bringing her newest dance creation ‘Incidental Music’ to life in the Boy’s School venue of the famous theatre.
Vivian explained that the piece will focus on the process of connecting and disconnecting, with others and the self: “The dancers will investigate the individual experiences of movement and find natural, shared moments. The rhythm is their unifying force, it pulls them together. There is a natural music to their movements and this music becomes the score that keeps them all intertwined, creating a dissonant harmony.”
The piece will feature both Vivian and Limerick dancer Lisa Cahill. Her show runs at the Boy’s School on March 1 and 2 at 6:30 p.m.
Following on from two hugely successful theatrical offerings in 2015, Eamonn Colfer will take ‘Dumpton’, the final instalment of a trilogy of one-acts, to the stage of the Boy’s Space on February 23 and 24 at 6:30 p.m.
In ‘Dumpton’, the world is a dump and the central charater lives in a fridge. An all-star cast will bring the play to life. Renowned Enniscorthy actor Andy Doyle plays the central role of Andrei Strove. He is supported by Stephanie Hayes as Cassie Haibone, the twice-daily visitor to Andrei’s mound. Stephanie was a founder member of Yellow Umbrella Theatre which staged a number of politically charged plays in the 1990s. Finally, well-known local actor and award-winning director Paul Walsh takes on the role of Hoboken Jones, a nomadic opportunist who specialises in extracting artefacts from deep beneath the surface of the dump.
And Wexford will also be represented in the works of other playwrights from around the country too with a number of actresses taking part in events during the three-week festival.
Madi O’Carroll from Wexford town will take part in ‘Beauty Queen Dreams’ by Fiona Frawley. The play focuses on two women who apply to take part in an ‘adult pageant’, reviving a rivalry they shared on the child beauty pageant scene. It will be staged on February 25 and 26 at 7 p.m. in the Main Space at Smock Alley.
Clodagh Mooney Duggan, from New Ross, will take part in ‘St. Boxfriend’ by Louise O’Meara. The play focuses on Terese, a religious statue restorer who spends her days painting and fixing under the watchful eye of her domineering boss. She has always felt an affiliation with Mary but when a new statue of Mary appears before her, she realises that all isn’t quite what she thought. The play will be performed in the Boy’s School on February 20 and 21 at 6:30 p.m. She will also take part in the rehearsed reading of ‘Tryst’ on February 27 at 4 p.m.
Finally, Katie McCann, from Crossabeg is also taking part in the festival. Another graduate of the Loreto Secondary School and former member of Co. Wexford Youth Theatre, she will take part in a rehearsed reading of ‘Tryst’ by Jeda de Bri and Finbarr Doyle.
Full details of the festival are available on www.smockalley.com.
