Stage Column: So much for the city

Tne major reason for celebrating the Dublin Theatre Festival is that the event gives people work. Never has this been more true than this year which probably explains why so many actors are walking around with smiles on their faces. As part of its 100th anniversary gig, the Abbey is presenting no less than 18 plays over 14 days. Fittingly, the plays span the entire century of the Abbey’s existence, ranging from productions of a trio of works, The Dandy Dolls, Purgatory and Riders To The Sea by respectively, George Fitzmaurice, W.B. Yeats and J.M Synge, plus more contemporary classics such as Frank McGuinness’ Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme, Tom Murphy’s The Gigli Concert, Bernard Farrell’s I Do Not Like Thee Doctor Fell and Marina Carr’s Portia Coughlan.
Theatre-lovers can also overdose on Abbey public access events, Outreach/Education workshops, platform discussions and a series of exhibitions.
Intriguingly, in their Reading the Decades series of public readings of signature plays, the Abbey is also giving audiences the opportunity to encounter both classic and lesser-known plays as directed by new and emerging directors, preceded by introductions from an array of distinguished speakers. These plays include Lady Gregory’s Spreading the News, T.C Murray’s Autumn Fire, Denis Johnson’s The Moon in the Yellow River, Walter Macken’s Home is the Hero, Sebastian Barry’s Prayers of Sherkin and Brian Friel’s Give Me Your Answer. How’s that for a range of theatrical delights?
The Gate Theatre, meanwhile, in conjunction with The Royal Court, is presenting the Irish premiere of Conor McPherson’s new play Shining City. Already hailed as “moving, compassionate, ingenious and gripping” by The Sunday Telegraph and “absolutely stunning” by the Daily Mail this is the latest in a long line of successful McPherson plays staged by the Gate such as Dublin Carol, Come on Over and Port Authority. One suspects that Shining City will be the highlight of the Dublin Theatre Festival for many people.
That said, some may be even more excited by Druid’s latest productions of two plays by J.M Synge, The Well of the Saints and The Tinker’s Wedding, which follow Garry Hynes acclaimed production of Playboy of the Western World earlier this year. In fact, Druid plan to stage all the plays of John Millington Synge, culminating in the presentation of his entire canon of work next summer. Who says Irish theatre can’t cope with epic undertakings? This time round the Druid productions will be staged at the Tivoli Theatre.
New Irish works during the Festival include Mark Doherty’s Trad. To be staged at Andrew’s Lane Theatre, the play follows the relationship of a 100 year old Irishman and his father, “in a surreal comedy that looks at the value of tradition”. O’Reilly’s Theatre, in Belvedere College, on the other hand, is the venue for Improbable Frequency, a new musical by Arthur Riordan and Bell Helicopter which will include a band of 6 musicians and will, we’re told, “be a joyous musical that lifts the lid on Ireland’s beloved neutrality” during the Second World War, and also “cuts to the heart of the tempestuous affair with our nearest neighbour”. As staged by Rough Magic this is bound to be, well, quite magical.
But a personal highlight for this writer will be Gerard Mannix Flynn’s James X which uses “a mix of visual art, text, theatre and direct encounter” to bring under one roof “a dual story, which has been concealed for decades – that of an individual and of the state which abandoned him to a ruthless system of neglect and abuse.” Earlier this year James X received the Best New Play Award at the Irish Times/ ESB Irish Theatre Awards and it really is a gripping, illuminating, politically devastating piece of work. As the son of a man who was sent to a reform school when he was a kid, I do have a vested interest – as Flynn does – for, eh, shining a light on this heinous aspect of Irish history, so do try see James X at Dublin’s Liberty Hall Theatre.
Other highlights of the Festival include Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, as directed by Joe Dowling at the Gaiety; the Chekov International Theatre Festival’s production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night at the Olympia; and the Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s production of Terence McNally’s Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune. Enjoy.

Bookings for the Dublin Theatre Festival: 01 677 8899