Showing posts with label Pan Pan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pan Pan. Show all posts

Thursday, September 15, 2016

Dick Walsh Theatre and Pan Pan, 'George Bush and Children': The Talkshow Must Go On

Opinions collide in Dick Walsh's new play about talkshows. It's easy to laugh from a distance. Photo: Jaesin Yu. 

Project Arts Centre, Tiger Dublin Fringe
Sep 12-17


A quick review of George Bush and Children by Dick Walsh coming up just as soon as I remember having a good time being energy ...

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Abbey Theatre, 'A Midsummer Night's Dream': A Most Rare Vision

A newly politicised, dreamy and gauzy imagining of Shakespeare's comedy at the Abbey Theatre. Photo: Ros Kavanagh. 

Abbey Theatre
Feb 17-Mar 28


My review of A Midsummer Night's Dream is over at A Younger Theatre. Now it's your turn. What did you think of director Gavin Quinn's interpretation? Do you prefer a faithful performance of the text or a deconstruction à la Pan Pan? What performances stood out for you? Your thoughts on Aedín Cosgrove's design and, furthermore, Bruno Schwengl's strange and eccentric costumes? Would you like to see Quinn work at the Abbey again? Should the theatre keep producing Shakespeare?


Sound off in comments below. 


Saturday, January 3, 2015

More Irish Theatre Highlights of 2014

School was out this summer and some of the first graduates of The Lir lent serious verve to Selina Cartmell's kinetic staging of Punk Rock


I already made a list of my top 10 Irish theatre productions of 2014 but here are more highlights that deserve mention ...

Saturday, October 25, 2014

Blue Raincoat, 'The Playboy of the Western World': Going to the Dogs

The stifling realism of Synge's play prompted riots at its 1907 premiere. What happens when Blue Raincoat take The Playboy of the Western World out of the peasant cottage?  


The Factory Performance Space, Sligo 
Oct 22-Nov 1


My review of The Playboy of the Western World by John Millington Synge coming up just as soon as I set the guardian angels winking in the clouds above ...

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Pan Pan, 'The Seagull and Other Birds': Avant Garde a Clue

The artist in Chekov's The Seagull desperately searches for new art forms. Pan Pan's strategy for success is a fray of colliding texts. 


Project Arts Centre, Dublin Theatre Festival 
Sept 29-Oct 5


My review of The Seagull and Other Birds coming up just as soon as I buy two bottles of Pinot Grigio in the off licence ...


Saturday, May 31, 2014

Pan Pan and Irish Modern Dance Company, 'Quad': Crunching the Numbers

According to Beckett, Quad can't work onstage. Regardless, Pan Pan and Irish Modern Dance Company do the math on this mysterious square dance. 


Project Arts Centre, Dublin Dance Festival 
May 30-31


My review of Quad by Samuel Beckett coming up after the jump ...

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Dublin Dance Festival Puts Beckett Through His Paces

Dublin Dance Festival heralds the return of Emma Martin, whose new production Tundra opens the festival.


"Dance first. Think later. It's the natural order" said Samuel Beckett. Fittingly, the Dublin Dance Festival puts him through his paces in its 10th instalment (running May 20-31), having programmed work from the dramatist as well as contemporary artists both international and local.

Emma Martin Dance promises something "reminiscent of a David Lynch film" with festival-opener Tundra - a new work that explores the darker side of the self and its yearning for transformation and beauty. Martin has proved herself an acute observer of the rigidity and distances of social life, a politeness that her sensational work Dogs took great joy in eviscerating. Expect live music and elemental movement from the country's most exciting choreographer.

It has become clear that Pan Pan's realisations of Samuel Beckett's lesser known works are not to be missed. Director Gavin Quinn now wraps his mind around Quad - a piece for four players, light and percussion - with movement provided by John Scott's Irish Modern Dance Company. Dublin Dance Festival Director Julia Carruthers reckons that Beckett's mysterious square dance requires more than the scope of an actor. Can Scott's dancers solve this mathematical movement sequence?

In addition, the Irish/North American company Arcane Collective visualise Beckett's world with Return to Absence, inspired by images from the trilogy of novels: Molloy, Malone Dies and The Unnamable.

The charming dance drama Swing debuted at last year's Dublin Fringe Festival, with actors Janet Moran and Steve Blount playing two dance students overcoming their nerves, both inside and outside the classroom. Its inclusion here goes to acknowledge just how skilful the performance is in its movement as well. "I would describe this as a duet rather than a two-hander" says Carruther. This former 'Show in a Bag' moves to the Peacock stage.

Comedy dance troupe Ponydance will be mounting their biggest show to date, Ponies Don't Play Football, having received standing ovations at the MAC in Belfast last October. Also, rising choreographer Philip Connaughton explores new territory with Tardigrade (which is the name for a type of water micro-animal).

Headlining the international contingency is Still Current by Russell Maliphant of the distinguished Sadler's Wells dance house. In Maliphant's fascination with the relationship between movement, light and music, he collaborates with the award-winning lighting designer Michael Hulls. This set of works at the Abbey Theatre includes the Olivier-nominated Afterlight - a portrait of the ballet dancer Vasalav Nijinsky. Carruther is proud that Still Current will also tour to Belfast, Limerick and Cork.

Expect to see dancers on the street with the Vienna-based Cie. Willi Dorner's Bodies in Urban Spaces. This moving trail through Dublin casts 20 local dancers to use the human body to illustrate urban architecture.

Hot-stomping Flamenco dancer Sònia Sánchez deals out her frustrations with the form in El Pliegue. Juggling performance Smashed pays homage to Pina Bausch. And L'après - midi d'un Foehn, a hot ticket from last year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival, artfully makes ballet dancers out of plastic bags (!) while twirling to the beautiful composition of the same name by Claude Debussy.


So what will you be seeing?

Friday, January 3, 2014

Monday, September 16, 2013

Dead Centre, 'LIPPY': Heaven Faced


LIPPY by DEAD CENTRE is perhaps the most polarising and extraordinary production to premiere at the Dublin Fringe Festival, and (at the last minute) I was asked to review it for Irish Theatre Magazine, the result of which you can find here: http://www.irishtheatremagazine.ie/Reviews/Current/Dublin-Fringe-Festival--Lippy

LIPPY is a performance about the suicide pact of four woman in a house in Leixlip, Co. Kildare thirteen years ago.

Writing the review didn't fully get it out of my system. I mean Christ! - it's one of the riskiest things I've seen, and its use of form and content could have backfired horrendously.


Saturday, August 10, 2013

Pan Pan, 'Embers': The Old Man and the Sea

Photo: Ros Kavanagh
Samuel Beckett Theatre
Aug 8-17

My review of Embers by Samuel Beckett coming up just as soon as I carry a gramophone about with me ...

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Irish Theatre in 2012: Sacred Duties


In keeping with tradition I decided to do another write-up on the year that was, theatre-wise.

Last year I wrote about how I felt about lists and how un-useful they can be, so I'll be keeping with the approach of a discussion. Feel free to contribute in the comments section below.

On the subject of 2012, you'll probably have noticed that this blog has been inactive for most of it. This has been a result of time commitments to PhD research, work, a foray into making theatre (which is perhaps better left undiscussed), and to writing about theatre elsewhere and being paid to do so.

However, I've been thinking a lot recently about returning to the self-publishing ways. Aside from the insane amount of other things I have to do, I've found myself capable of writing faster, and so I think a weekly blog post is certainly achievable.

So please stick around (any press managers out there please retain my contact information!), and I'd like to wish Happy Holidays to all who have been around these parts, even if they have been quieter than usual.

My thoughts on Irish Theatre in 2012 after the jump ...


Sunday, April 1, 2012

Special Priced Tickets for Pan Pan’s ‘A Doll House’ for Musings Readers



I’m sure it’s clear to many of you at this stage that I am a huge fan of Pan Pan.

I am excited about their upcoming production of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House for many reasons, chief among them being the casting of the marvellous Judith Roddy as Nora Helmer (Roddy’s Ophelia in The Rehearsal’s “Where is the beauteous majesty of Denmark?” scene is one of my favourite theatre memories).

The producer of A Doll House has been in touch to offer a special deal for readers of this here blog.

Tickets (originally priced at 30/28) are available to readers for 16. Head over to the booking page and enter the code FriPan into the box marked “production code”, or call the box office at 01 6770014 and quote the code.  

Below are the show’s press release and trailer. See you all there!


Friday, December 2, 2011

Pan Pan, ‘The Rehearsal, Playing the Dane’: Revisited


Black Box Theatre, Galway
Nov 30-Dec 1

I had forgotten how jam-packed The Rehearsal, Playing the Dane is before I went to see it for the second time last night in Galway. Despite having already written about the show (twice), I have some further comments below, especially in relation to how this production differs from the debut run last year.

Monday, August 29, 2011

Pan Pan, ‘All That Fall’: Picture Yourself On A Train In A Station


Project Arts Centre, Dublin
Aug 23-Sept 2

My review of Pan Pan’s All That Fall by Samuel Beckett coming up just as soon as you shed light on my lifelong preoccupation with horses’ buttocks ...


Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Wish I had seen ‘Medea’: Irish Times Theatre Awards Nominations


It’s been over a week since the Irish Times Theatre Awards nominations were announced, and I was too busy working on a show at the time to write my thoughts on them.

First: I’m glad to see Pan Pan’s The Rehearsal, Playing the Dane (*) is a contender for ‘Best Production’. I was curious to see how the judging panel would grade the show considering its postmodern nature and the indefinite variables in its live performance (I wonder how our three Hamlets were considered in the ‘Best Actor’ category?). No show had more confident a harness of theatricality this past year than Playing the Dane, and while Gavin Quinn has carelessly been excluded from the category for ‘Best Direction’ it’s great to see fellow Pan Pan genius Aedín Cosgrove get recognition for her set design. By also throwing Anu Productions’s World’s End Lane into the dogfight, the judges have admirably chosen to acknowledge theatrical ingenuity not only in performance that is strictly traditional but also in the increasing output of postmodern work as well.


(*) The Rehearsal, Playing the Dane review:
http://musingsinintermissions.blogspot.com/2010/10/pan-pan-rehearsal-playing-dane-bins.html#more


Most prominently felt in this shortlist is Siren Productions for their performance of Medea (pictured above) in the Fringe, which has bagged five nominations including ‘Best Production’, ‘Best Director’, and ‘Best Actress’. I didn’t see the show but I have heard good things, and would be interested to hear from those who saw it if they think it deserves such attention.

Friday, December 31, 2010

Best of Irish Theatre 2010 #1: Pan Pan, ‘The Rehearsal, Playing the Dane’


Samuel Beckett Theatre, Dublin
Oct 1-10


Again, if you look through my archive you will find a post on The Rehearsal, Playing the Dane (I’ll be nice and put the link at the bottom of this post).

Pan Pan made not only a really fun production for die-hard theatre buffs with this one, but utilized an ingenious stagecraft as well as a brilliant court of actors who brought endless humour and emotionally moving performances.

From establishing the performers in their personal and professional capacities as they audition for the role of ‘Hamlet’, Gavin Quinn and Pan Pan take us to an Elsinore of mirrored halls and rubbish cans where the impetus to ‘perform’ doesn’t shroud the indefinite natures of the individuals. Instead we are witness to the actors’ abilities to rise to the occasion and make Shakespeare’s masterpiece their own.

What a wonderful cast. Particularly enjoyable was seeing Connor Madden overcome his actor insecurities with a grand feat of athleticism and raw emotion, paying homage to the divine role with charm and skill. Also a highlight was Judith Roddy’s performance as Ophelia, drenched in rubbish and sorrow. Absolutely mesmerizing and gorgeous.

Brilliant show.


As for the best individual performances of the year …

-         Madden and Roddy for Playing the Dane. These guys can captivate an audience single-handedly.

-         Penelope nobles Tadhg Murphy and Niall Buggy. Absolutely incredible work.
 
-         Christ Deliver Us! tragic youths Aoife Duffen and Laurence Kinlan. These kids just break your heart.

-         Little John Nee for Barabbas’s Johnny Patterson the Singing Irish Clown. Much more than just a comic troubadour.

-         Hillary O’Shaughnessy for taking us through her broken city while courageously facing off street punks with the assistance of a guitar-wielding busker in Playgroup’s Berlin Love Tour. She also gave us gummy bears.


Best writing …
-         Kilroy for Christ Deliver Us! and Walsh for Penelope. Both brilliant pieces.


Best direction …
-         Gavin Quinn deserves the trophy for The Rehearsal, Playing the Dane. Garry Hynes brought some epic production values into The Silver Tassie though.

Well that’s 2010 wrapped up (with only a few hours to spare).

See you in the new year folks.


The Rehearsal, Playing the Dane review:
http://musingsinintermissions.blogspot.com/2010/10/pan-pan-rehearsal-playing-dane-bins.html#more

Friday, December 3, 2010

Pan Pan, ‘Oedipus Loves You’: Oedipus, You Punk

Town Hall Theatre, Galway
Nov 15-16

A few thoughts on Oedipus Loves You coming up just as soon as I fuck up the marinade …

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Excuses, excuses …

I have been away from the blogosphere for a while now, mostly because I’ve been busy working on shows. My Oedipus Loves You review will be posted in the next 24 hours, meaning it will be done so ten days after having seen it. From now on I’ll be committing myself to writing and posting materials while they are still relevant and recent. 

Now, in non-economic/political related news …

Monday, October 11, 2010

Pan Pan, 'The Rehearsal, Playing the Dane': Bins & Arrows


 The Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival has arrived, and now one must choose from what’s on offer. On one hand you may be lured by the colourful spread laid out by international players who don’t visit often, with the exotic appeal of culturally-different, experimental, and physical material. Meanwhile, the enthusiasts of Irish theatre will commit themselves to seeing the who’s who of Irish companies who are also operating on full throttle. 

While I may not be able to afford James Macdonald’s John Gabriel Borkman in the Abbey (which has enough impressive names attached to warrant a national holiday), I did get to see Pan Pan’s The Rehearsal, Playing the Dane. My review of this excellent vivisection of The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark right after I read out all my lines consecutively …