That Was Us: Contemporary Irish Theatre and Performance

by Fintan Walsh (Editor), Willie White (Editor)

Overview

In the wake of Ireland’s recent economic rise, fall, and associated social crises, theatre and performance have played vital roles in reflecting on the past, engaging the present, and imagining possible futures.

That Was Us features a wide, rich range of critical essays and artist reflections that strive to make sense of some of the most significant shifts and trends in contemporary Irish theatre and performance.

Focusing on artists connected to the Dublin Theatre Festival, the book addresses work by the Abbey Theatre, ANU Productions, Brokentalkers, The Corn Exchange, Druid, Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre, the Gate Theatre, Landmark Productions, Rough Magic Theatre Company, THEATREclub, Theatre Lovett, Pan Pan, The Stomach Box and THISISPOPBABY, among others.

Some of the burgeoning forms and practices discussed include: site-specific and site-responsive theatre; testimonial, documentary, and biographical performance; dance theatre; theatre for children and families; new writing; and fresh takes on canonical writing staged at home or toured internationally.

In bringing together critics and artists to think side by side, That Was Us is indispensable for anyone interested in contemporary practices and cultural politics.

Contents

1. The Power of the Powerless: Theatre in Turbulent Times by Fintan Walsh

ONE: Theatres of Testimony

2. ANU Productions and Site-Specific Performance: The Politics of Space and Place by Brian Singleton

3. Witnessing the (Broken) Nation: Theatre of the Real and Social Fragmentation in Brokentalkers’ Silver Stars, The Blue Boy, and Have I No Mouth by Charlotte McIvor

4. You Had to be There by Louise Lowe

TWO: Auto/Biographical Performance

5. Making Space: Female-Authored Queer Performance in Irish Theatre by Oonagh Murphy

6. The Writing Life by Helen Meany

7. Metaphysicians of Unnatural Chaos: Memories of Genesi by Socìetas Raffaello Sanzio by Dylan Tighe

THREE: Bodies Out of Bounds

8. Insider and Outsider: Michael Keegan-Dolan in the Irish Dance Landscape by Michael Seaver

9. And the Adults Came Too! Dublin Theatre Festival and the Development of Irish Children’s Theatre by Eimear Beardmore

10. Living Inspiration by John Scott

FOUR: Placing Performance

11. Representations of Working-Class Dublin at the Dublin Theatre Festival by James Hickson

12. ‘Getting Known’: Beckett, Ireland, and the Creative Industries by Trish McTighe

13. The Art of Perspective by Michael West

FIVE: Touring Performances

14. Druid Cycles: The Rewards of Marathon Productions by Tanya Dean

15. Staging the National in an International Context: Druid at the Dublin Theatre Festival by Sara Keating

16. Viewed from Afar: Contemporary Irish Theatre on the World’s Stages by Peter Crawley

17. A Dance You Associate With Your Family by Gary Keegan

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781783190355
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	04/01/2014
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Fintan Walsh is Lecturer in Theatre and Performance Studies at Birkbeck, University of London, where he teaches on the B.A. Theatre and Drama Studies degree and the M.A. Text and Performance (with RADA). He is author of Theatre & Therapy (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013) and Male Trouble: Masculinity and the Performance of Crisis (Palgrave Macmillan, 2010). He is editor of Queer Notions: New Plays and Performances from Ireland (Cork University Press, 2010), co-editor of Performance, Identity and the Neo-Political Subject (Routledge, 2013), Crossroads: Performance Studies and Irish Culture (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009). Fintan is a regular contributor to Irish Theatre Magazine. Willie White is Artistic Director and Chief Executive of Dublin Theatre Festival.

Table of Contents

Contents

1. The Power of the Powerless: Theatre in Turbulent Times by Fintan Walsh

ONE: Theatres of Testimony

2. ANU Productions and Site-Specific Performance: The Politics of Space and Place by Brian Singleton

3. Witnessing the (Broken) Nation: Theatre of the Real and Social Fragmentation in Brokentalkers’ Silver Stars, The Blue Boy, and Have I No Mouth by Charlotte McIvor

4. You Had to be There by Louise Lowe

TWO: Auto/Biographical Performance

5. Making Space: Female-Authored Queer Performance in Irish Theatre by Oonagh Murphy

6. The Writing Life by Helen Meany

7. Metaphysicians of Unnatural Chaos: Memories of Genesi by Socìetas Raffaello Sanzio by Dylan Tighe

THREE: Bodies Out of Bounds

8. Insider and Outsider: Michael Keegan-Dolan in the Irish Dance Landscape by Michael Seaver

9. And the Adults Came Too! Dublin Theatre Festival and the Development of Irish Children’s Theatre by Eimear Beardmore

10. Living Inspiration by John Scott

FOUR: Placing Performance

11. Representations of Working-Class Dublin at the Dublin Theatre Festival by James Hickson

12. ‘Getting Known’: Beckett, Ireland, and the Creative Industries by Trish McTighe

13. The Art of Perspective by Michael West

FIVE: Touring Performances

14. Druid Cycles: The Rewards of Marathon Productions by Tanya Dean

15. Staging the National in an International Context: Druid at the Dublin Theatre Festival by Sara Keating

16. Viewed from Afar: Contemporary Irish Theatre on the World’s Stages by Peter Crawley

17. A Dance You Associate With Your Family by Gary Keegan

Editorial Reviews

The collection aims for - and achieves - great breadth. It features seventeen chapters from scholars and practitioners on subjects ranging from socially engaged theatre such as that of ANU Productions and Brokentalkers, to children's theatre, to 'bio-plays' that have taken literary figures as their protagonists, to the touring productions of Druid Theatre Company... the collection succeeds in demonstrating "the ongoing role theatre and performance have to play in exploring questions of identity, responsibility, and civic participation". While O'Toole might lament the absence of a 'power play' in contemporary Ireland, Walsh and his contributors show that Irish theatre and performance have responded in diverse and often provocative ways to the challenges of living in contemporary Ireland.” —Dr Sinead Moynihan (University of Exeter)

“An intelligent, occasionally emotional dissection of what its editor Fintan Walsh pointedly describes as "theatre and performance in a time of crisis". It's a timely compendium of critical essays and recollections by those on the creative front line of a sector confronting profound economic, political and social change. It also proves to be spine-stiffening testimony to theatre's ability to engage with the here and now... highly recommended” —The Stage

From the Publisher