Stage

WEEK AFTER week I try to remain the right side of well-mannered when some myopic PR person or director phones and says "There's a play coming up in the blah-blah-blah theatre and it's got great music that'll really appeal to your readers." The implication being that the Hot Press constituency is one in which people survive solely on music and have no interest whatsoever in theatre, art or social comment. Which, of course, is nonsense.

That said, with all this talk of the democratisation of the arts, and the dissolution of the line between "high" and "low" culture, one would like to see in the programme for the Dublin Theatre Festival just one post-Zooropa production that taps into the most potent art form this century - rock 'n' roll. Particularly as the Festival organisers have, again, made a noble effort to appeal to younger audiences with their 'Younger People's Season'. and yet, as heretical as it may be to say so, I'd like to have seen one of the major productions - yes, even Shakespeare - shafted for something with a little more "street cred" and contemporary appeal.

This cavil aside, the Festival is bursting at the seams this year with seven theatre companies presenting 60 performances from 10am-8.30pm daily during the Festival - which runs from October 4th-October 16th. Even more commendable in these days of high unemployment is the fact that ticket prices range from £2-£7 tops.

Some of the more interesting plays on offer as part of the 'Young Peoples' Season' are Slice of Life, written by two fifth year students from Roscommon and said to "investigate the psychological causes of the disabling condition of anorexia nervosa", and F by the ever-reliable Wet Paint Theatre Company which presents an evocation of "how young men perceive, and treat young women".

A more specific study of the battle between the sexes will probably be found in Ken Bourke's The Well, which is being directed by Susie Kennedy and looks at the coming of age of a young woman in the midlands of Ireland.

And so to the major productions in the Festival, and if it's Shakespeare you want then few theatre companies can present the bard quite as powerfully as the Royal Shakespeare Company. Adrian Noble's "inspiring" (The Guardian) and "spellbinding" (Daily Telegraph) version of A Winter's Tale is being staged at The Gaiety, while The Tempest, directed by Terry Devlin, is on at Kilmainham Jail - or 'Gaol', if that's what you prefer.

Two masters of modern theatre, Ibsen and Tom Murphy are the featured playwrights in the Gate and Abbey. Ibsen's A Doll's House, with its theme of women's rights should prove to be quite provocative in the hands of film director Karel Reisz, whose cinematic works include movies like The French Lieutenant's Woman.

At the Abbey, we have an equally formidable team as Hynes returns to her role as director for Tom Murphy's masterpiece, Famine. There will be more on both of these productions in future issues of Hot Press; for now, each comes with the highest possible recommendation.

Sure to be controversial is another exploration of women's rights, Keely and Du, written by Jane Martin and directed by Caroline Fitzgerald. Starring Louise Fletcher, undoubtedly best known for her role as Nurse Ratchet in the movie One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, the play examines "the dilemma of a young pregnant woman kidnapped by extreme anti-abortionists who want to force her to have the baby she doesn't want". Also boldly venturing into potentially controversial areas is the Co-Motion Theatre Company, with Para, written by Joe O'Byrne and set in Northern Ireland.

For those who want something decidedly lighter, Paul Merton, who was recently voted 'Top Television Comedy Personality' at the British Comedy awards, is presenting his one-person show at the Olympia Theatre. Fans of 'Paul Merton - The Series' will no doubt be parking their tents outside the theatre so, as with all of these shows, early booking is advisable.

NEXT ISSUE: Joe Jackson looks at the remaining shows on offer during the Dublin Theatre Festival and reviews the first week's openings.