After a relaxing break over the festive season, we are settling back into the beautiful Castletown House minus the mince pies and overstock of USA biscuits. Big plans lie ahead for 2012 and with such a varied programme of events lined up we are already anticipating cue 1!
As 2011 drew to a close, the Performance Corporation were relocated from their regular home to accommodate a massive maintenance job in Castletown House. As this undertaking nears its completion we are delighted to be back in our familiar surroundings. The daily hustle and bustle of countless floorboards being pulled up inspired a big backstage tidy up for the New Year and we are waiting anxiously in the wings as we near the end of our second week back for 2012.
What a big year this is with our very own award winning director Jo Mangan deeply inspiring us as the Jerome Hynes Clore Cultural Leadership Fellow for 2011/2012! We also have some team changes this year with Tom Swift stepping up as Artistic Director and a new addition Collette Haverty taking over a Programme Co-ordinator role for the company.
BUT… The most exciting news we saved until the end, this year the Performance Corporation are celebrate their 10th birthday! Yup! 10 Years! Big plans lie ahead for 2012 with our first venture taking us to the west of Ireland to bring our audience ‘Across the Lough’ as part of the new LANDMARK public art programme run by Mayo County Council. Lifejackets, rowing boats and floating Jetty’s are keeping us out of mischief this week and under a swamp of paperwork!
So it’s checking out time for the moment but watch this space as we will be keeping you regularly updated on the fun and frollicks going on behind the scenes…
In the meantime, check it out… Jo Mangan on the amazing Rise Productions Podcast…
(Click on link) Irish Theatre Podcast from Rise Productions featuring Jo Mangan
Darragh Kelly in Slattery's Sago Saga at the 2011 Dublin Theatre Festival
Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival
Rathfarnham Castle
12 Performances only from Oct 6 – 16
First performed in 2010, Slattery’s Sago Saga is one part carnival, one part surreal satire on modern Ireland. This hit comedy was acclaimed universally by critics and audiences and completely sold out its run in the historic halls of Rathfarnham Castle. It was also nominated Best New Play, Best Actor and Best Director in this year’s Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards.
Jo Mangan will direct a cast including Darragh Kelly, Helen Norton, Michael Glenn Murphy, Kathy Rose O’Brien and Karl Quinn.
Slattery’s Sago Saga is the tale of Tim Hartigan, whose quiet life as dogsbody of Poguemahone Hall is shattered by the arrival of a Scotch woman with a ridiculously evil plan. And just round the corner, utter confusion awaits in the shape of a politically-correct Leprechaun, a beautiful typist and a tycoon T.D. bent on bankrupting the country.
WHAT THE PRESS SAID…
“One part theatre of the absurd, one part state of the Nation and one hell of an evening’s entertainment….a delight from start to finish….should not be missed” – Totally Dublin
“An unending banquet of brilliant writing … The Performance Corporation delivers in glorious measure” – The Irish Times
‘Brilliantly funny…A monstrous pudding of a comic play.’ - Irish Independent
‘Slattery’s Sago Saga is crock-full of fresh parodic fun.’ - Irish Times
‘The cast do a rollicking and superb job… under Jo Mangan’s terrific direction.’ - Sunday Independent
‘Ferociously absurdist wit propelled by a stunning cast.’ - Le Cool Dublin
‘A delirious concoction of plot and off-kilter dialogue.’ - Sunday Business Post
CAST
Darragh Kelly
Michael Glenn Murphy
Helen Norton
Kathy Rose O’Brien
Karl Quinn
Creative Team
Directed by Jo Mangan
Produced by Breda Cashe
Set and Lighting Design by Ciaran Bagnall
Costume Design by Niamh Lunny
Hair and Make Up Design by Lorraine McCrann
Graphic Design by Caoimhe O Byrne
Photography by Colm Hogan and Ciaran Bagnall
There are glimmers of magic during our top-secret first run-through of “Swampoodle” in the Uline Arena this week.
During the day the Uline is a parking lot. But after dark, when the last of the commuter cars leave the building, the Swampoodle crew takes over. It all feels very undercover, and the atmospheric reverb of the place gives me goose-bumps. It’s hard not to let your imagination run wild when you think about the people who have performed here in the past. But tonight it’s our turn to give the Uline a try-out and see what magic we can weave.
For the run-through our cast have to perform the play for the first time from start to finish. Normally, we rehearse in 60×100 feet space. Now they’re being asking to peform in an abandoned nine thousand seater arena without theatre lights and without a proper sound system! With the huge space difference the actors spend a lot of time running to catch up. Of course, there are moments when it all feels like a glorious shambles. But that’s the way it always is for the first run-through. In fact, that’s what its all about – finding the cracks, identifying the challenges and moving forward.
But it’s also about discovering the magic. And against all the odds, our wonderful cast discover plenty of magic during the run-through in this echoing arena. You can tell that this magic will only grow and grow… Cue lights… Cue video… Cue music… Cue Swampoodle!
I’m up on the ninth floor of an ultra-modern office block on Washington’s Massachusetts Avenue and I can really feel Swampoodle coming together. To those of you who know anything about this project, this may seem a strange. After all, Swampoodle is a play inspired by the stories of DC’s forgotten Irish ghetto and staged in an half-abandoned sports arena. But if you were up here with me on the ninth floor you might get the picture.
This is our rehearsal space, but more importantly it’s a rehearsal space with a panoramic view of old Swampoodle – or at least traces and reminders of it. Back in Ireland, my office walls were covered in maps and images of DC and the landmarks of the old Swampoodle neighborhood. Now after all those months of researching and writing the play, it’s exciting to see the geography of the place in real life. Out one window I see the red brick Government Printing Office – a place which employed hundreds of Swampoodlites back in the day. And just down the street, I can see front of Union Station.
The construction of this grandiose terminus also gave work to many Irish laborers, but ironically it helped kill off the neighorhood. The project literally railroaded through the heart of Swampoodle, as hundreds of homes were demolished to make way for the station and its sprawling rail yard. This marked the beginning of the end for Swampoodle as an Irish-American community in the heart of DC. By the mid-20th century, even the name Swampoodle was forgotten.
Out another window, if I crane my neck, I fancy I can see the Uline Arena – a barrel-roofed building that stands on the far side of the Union Station rail yard. Once upon a time the Uline was DC’s sports and entertainment Mecca. These days it’s a parking lot. But in three weeks time, we plan to bring the razzle-dazzle back. That’s where Swampoodle will be performed. And I can feel it coming together!
In flight entertainment has ceased, baggage has been reclaimed, weather climate has changed dramatically and five hours have disappeared! The Performance Corporation have touched down in Washington DC for their next theatrical adventure to begin! With wardrobe and producers to arrive on Monday and Tuesday there is an overwhelming sense of excitement about the world premiere of SWAMPOODLE to enter its rehearsal stages.
With such an exquisite venue known as The Uline Area (later the Washington Colinseum) it’s hard not to feel inspired on entering the space. Each corner embellished with captivating historical accounts. Built in 1941 it was the original home to DC’S early hockey and basketball teams while also being the first venue to host a Beatles concert. Through time, the Uline has welcomed various artistic entertainment from Ballets to Circuses while also playing host to some of the biggest names in the entertainment world such as The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan.
Today the building acts as an indoor parking facility…..Until now that is! The inspiration for the title SWAMPOODLE came from the Irish Neighbourhood which existed in the late 1800s and early 1900s in the residential area that is now situated in the heart of the Uline area.
An exciting process lies ahead as we collaborate with DC’s Solas Nua- home to the only organization in the United States dedicated exclusively to contemporary Irish Arts. With a US and Irish production, performing and design team an exciting process lies ahead for all involved. With metro maps in our pockets, smart cards charged up, sweats on, yoga mats packed and starbucks to kick-start each day- it’s off to rehearsals we go………
Stay tuned for updates on our SWAMPVENUTURE!
(Collette Haverty)
