DEIRDRE KINAHAN LOUISE LOWE MARIE MULLEN BRIAN GLEESON - LANDMARK PRODUCTIONS
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
LANDMARK PRODUCTIONS
BY DEIRDRE KINAHAN
DIRECTED BY LOUISE LOWE
STARRING MARIE MULLEN
AND BRIAN GLEESON
UK PREMIERE
BY DEIRDRE KINAHAN
DIRECTOR LOUISE LOWE
COMPOSER CONOR MITCHELL
COSTUME DESIGNER JOAN O’CLERY
LIGHTING DESIGNER MARY TUMELTY
SOUND DESIGNER CAMERON MACAULAY
ON DEMAND AS PART OF
ASSEMBLY SHOWCATCHER
AT EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE
6–30 AUGUST 2021
Marie Mullen in rehearsal. Photo: Barry Cronin
2 3
CONTENTS LANDMARK PRODUCTIONS
Landmark Productions is one of work – plays, operas and musicals
Ireland’s leading theatre producers. – in theatres ranging from the 66-
It produces wide-ranging work in seat New Theatre to the 1,254-
PAGE 5 LANDMARK PRODUCTIONS Ireland, and shares that work with seat Olympia. It co-produces
international audiences. regularly with a number of partners,
including, most significantly, Galway
PAGE 6 LANDMARK LIVE In January 2021 it launched Landmark
Live, a new online streaming platform
International Arts Festival and
Irish National Opera. Its 21 world
to enable the company to bring the premieres include new plays by major
thrill of live theatre to audiences Irish writers such as Enda Walsh and
PAGE 12 THE SACRED TRUTH around the world. Mark O’Rowe, featuring a roll-call of
OF MÁIRE SULLIVAN Deirdre Kinahan’s The Saviour is the
Ireland’s finest actors, directors and
designers.
fourth production to be streamed to
date. In August, Landmark, in a co- Numerous awards include the
PAGE 15 CAST / CREATIVES production with Galway International Judges’ Special Award at The Irish
Arts Festival, will present the world Times Irish Theatre Awards, in
premiere of a new play by Enda Walsh, recognition of ‘sustained excellence
PAGE 26 THANK YOUS / FUNDING Medicine, as part of the Edinburgh in programming and for developing
International Festival. Walsh will imaginative partnerships to bring
direct Clare Barrett, Aoife Duffin, and quality theatre to the Irish and
PAGE 27 JOIN THE CONVERSATION Domhnall Gleeson, with drummer international stage’; and a Special
Sean Carpio, in a devastatingly funny Tribute Award for Anne Clarke, for her
and moving meditation on how, for work as ‘a producer of world-class
many decades, we have treated those theatre in the independent sector in
we call mentally ill. Ireland’.
Led by Anne Clarke since the www.landmarkproductions.ie
company’s foundation in 2003,
Landmark’s productions have Join the Landmark Mailing list
received multiple awards and have HERE to find out more about
been seen in leading theatres in upcoming shows.
London, New York and beyond. It
produces a wide range of ambitious
4 5
LANDMARK LIVE
‘LANDMARK Landmark Live is a new online streaming platform
PRODUCTIONS which enables Landmark to bring the thrill of live
theatre to audiences around the world.
HAVE QUICKLY
BECOME LEADERS Launched in January 2021, Landmark Live
IN DIGITAL THEATRE productions include:
IN IRELAND
WITH THEIR The Approach by Mark O’Rowe
ONLINE VIEWING broadcast live from Project Arts Centre, Dublin
PLATFORM,
LANDMARK LIVE’ Happy Days by Samuel Beckett
Sunday Business Post in association with, and broadcast live from, the
Olympia Theatre, Dublin
‘OF ALL THE
STREAMED Ross O’Carroll-Kelly,
PRODUCTIONS Postcards from the Ledge
I HAVE SEEN broadcast live from Mermaid Arts Centre,
Co. Wicklow
IN THE PAST Landmark Productions and Galway International Arts Festival
Medicine
YEAR, THIS ONE
The Saviour by Deirdre Kinahan
COMES CLOSEST
presented as part of Cork Midsummer Festival
TO CAPTURING and broadcast live from The Everyman
THE FOCUS AND
by Enda Walsh
TENSION OF LIVE NEXT UP
THEATRE’.
The Guardian on the Medicine by Enda Walsh
live-broadcast of co-produced with, and broadcast live from, Edinburgh Galway International
The Approach Galway International Arts Festival International Festival Arts Festival
4–29 August (In-person) 2–18 September
(In-person and live-streamed)
LIVE-STREAM TICKETS NOW ON SALE!
6 7
PRODUCTION MANAGER EAMONN FOX
STAGE MANAGERS LEANNA CUTTLE
LEO McKENNA
LX PROGRAMMER MATT BURKE
HAIR AND MAKE-UP LAOISE McGINN
VAL SHERLOCK
PROPS BUYER SADHBH BARRETT COAKLEY
CREW HUGH ROBERTS
BY DEIRDRE KINAHAN MARK DONOVAN
IAN BROWN
MÁIRE MARIE MULLEN SEÁN SPILLANE
MEL BRIAN GLEESON
LANDMARK PRODUCTIONS
FEATURING THE VOICES OF
PRODUCER ANNE CLARKE
BELLE BOSS DIGITAL PRODUCER HUGH FARRELL
ALEX FINUCANE ASSISTANT PRODUCER JACK FARRELL
JONATHAN WHITE
DRAMATURG ELEANOR WHITE
MARKETING SINEAD McPHILLIPS
DIRECTOR LOUISE LOWE PUBLICITY SINEAD O’DOHERTY
COMPOSER CONOR MITCHELL BOX OFFICE ASSISTANT ANNIE DUFFY McMAHON
COSTUME DESIGNER JOAN O’CLERY PHOTOGRAPHERS PATRICK REDMOND
LIGHTING DESIGNER MARY TUMELTY JED NIEZGODA
SOUND DESIGNER CAMERON MACAULAY BARRY CRONIN
GRAPHIC DESIGN GARETH JONES
The performance runs for 70 minutes without an interval. MOTION GRAPHICS SAYONARA BITTENCOURT
8 9
STREAMING
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY JOE EDWARDS
VISION MIXER JAMES RYAN
LIVE STREAM FACILITIES STATIONHOUSE MEDIA
CAMERA OPERATORS MARTIN BIRNEY
GERRY MACARTHUR
SOUND ENGINEER PAUL ASHE-BROWNE
STREAMING TECHNICIAN JONATHAN CONNOLLY
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT AARON GANNON
Louise Lowe in rehearsal. Photo: Barry Cronin
10 11
THE SACRED TRUTH Truth with a capital T is spoken, only Mother, Deirdre Kinahan’s edition is a
unravelling can follow. Her creatures terrifying manifestation.
OF MÁIRE SULLIVAN are locked in patterns of control that
make truthful utterance a threat to Underlying the show’s sparking
BY PAULA MEEHAN carefully-wrought consensus. energy is the most serious
consideration, even accusation,
That we can laugh our heads off that as a State we have reneged
IF THERE WAS a Venn diagram for as we witness disintegration and on our commitment to protect our
this play we might see transgression is because one of the children in the past and that, for all
Crazy-Old-Long-Widowed-Religious- many arrows in Deirdre Kinahan’s the commissions and reports and
Maniac-Talking-Out-Loud-To-Jesus- capacious quiver is her sense of investigations, we are still failing
After-Getting-Her-Hole humour. Gallows humour to be sure: them. Dig a bit deeper and this
overlapping with Massive-Cultural- deadly. play urges a complete separation
And-Constitutional-Change-On- of Church and State. The price of
The-Island-In-The-Last-Decade The old chestnuts are here: How can Theocracy has been horrendous;
overlapping with a God of Love allow such suffering? living hells in the Magdalen Laundries
Family-Traumatised-Through-The- What do we make of Máire’s direct (evoked here with accurate terror),
Generations-Karma. conversation with Him? What kind of the social torture of citizens who are
Prayer is this? Máire imagines Jesus different, the tyranny of the family
That we come to love Máire up in the mountains of Tibet where become ‘enforcer’ of a dysfunctional
Sullivan by the end of the show the white mountaintops touch the and unholy alliance of said Church
is a testimony to the playwright’s clouds where you can just sit yourself and State.
dark and mysterious art, an art that down and have a breather and not
alchemicalises evil, and shows us be being bothered by World Wars or The historical roots of that alliance
the human heart as a wilderness, Mass Murders or Screaming Auld- go back to the power vacuum left
a zone beyond manmade (gender Ones having sex. when the British pulled out, the first
intended!) laws. minor chord in the swan song of
There is a merciful refusal to sanitize empire, into which vacuum stepped
We can empathise with her fall from or glorify victimhood: Máire Sullivan’s the Catholic Church, whose absolute
grace. We witness the corruption of baggage is packed with enough authority became unquestioned
her already trammelled innocence, incidents to derail any human authority and led to inevitability of
the havoc her unexamined actions being, and it is our identification systemic abuse. The internalising of
have unleashed, the horrendous with her suffering that engenders all that oppression, of the shame and
consequences of her gullibility - all compassion. In a theatre tradition trauma, has meant the reverberations
this a tribute to a playwright whose that does a great line in the of that shift in power and its abuse
gift is for capturing the transgressive Monstrous Irish Mother, even the continue to sound through the
moment. In Kinahan’s world, when Religious Maniacal Monstrous Irish generations. To find language for this
12 13
– the Great Amnesia also known as by her derangement, as the truth is
the Great Silence – has largely fallen uncovered by the stripping away of DEIRDRE KINAHAN
to artists. the layers of her illusion. We bear
with her the terrible cost of hearing
WRITER
The Saviour breaks silence around that truth and the massive betrayal at
a particular obscenity. The root the heart of it. AWARD-WINNING PLAYWRIGHT
of that word, obscene, goes back Deirdre Kinahan is a member of
to the very foundation of western In this Midsummer of 2021, the play Aosdána, Ireland’s elected body of
drama, to the great Greek tragedians. is staged against the backdrop of outstanding artists.
What cannot be shown in the scene, endless daily talk of ‘getting back
because it is too horrendous to to normal’ after a year and a season Her recent work includes Embargo,
be shown, happened obs skené, of lockdown and governance by Rathmines Road (Fishamble); Dear
off stage, and is reported back metadata. Máire’s story is a powerful Ireland, The Bloodied Field, The
to us - Oedipus stabbing his own argument for never going back to Unmanageable Sisters (Abbey
eyes, blinding himself for what he any normality out of which that story Theatre); Crossings (Pentabus UK);
considers his moral blindness; Jason comes. Wild Notes (Solas Nua DC); Renewed
eating his own children baked in a pie (Old Vic London).
by Medea, her revenge for his taking If we are lucky, we move too towards
another woman. If it can’t be shown, compassion and forgiveness, Forthcoming projects include the
it can and it must be imagined. Our especially for ourselves in our own opera Fallen for Meath County
own imaginations provide all the fated dance with history. If great Council, Creative Ireland, and
drama needed, conjured by language, theatre has a great function, it is Belfast Ensemble; the musical Ettie
in this instance by the incantatory to reveal our own hand in our own for Irish Arts Center NYC; a play
power of the text and by the passion suffering. commemorating the Civil War for
of skilled theatre artists. Meath County Council; a new play,
This is great theatre. Grace, for Landmark Productions;
We are the appalled witnesses to and In the Middle of the Fields for
the obscenity, to this opening of a Paula Meehan Solas Nua DC.
festering wound, as we move through Dublin, June 2021
the action, inexorably towards Deirdre is an Associate Artist with
revelation. If revelation is the end of Meath County Council Arts Office.
the journey, it is an apocalyptic one Her plays are translated into many
for this Carlow family. languages, published by Nick Hern
Books and produced regularly in
In The Saviour we are immersed in Ireland and on the international stage.
Máire’s psyche to such a degree that,
as in zero gravity, we find it hard to
discern direction, we are disoriented
14 15
MARIE MULLEN BRIAN GLEESON
MÁIRE MEL
THEATRE CREDITS include BRIAN RECENTLY WRAPPED filming
Testament (Landmark Productions/ the role of Ross in the television
Dublin Theatre Festival); many series Extinction for Sky. He was
productions for Druid, including recently seen in Frank of Ireland,
DruidShakespeare: Richard which he wrote with Domhnall
III, Sive, Brigit, Bailegangaire, Gleeson and Michael Moloney for
DruidShakespeare: Richard II, Henry Channel 4, Amazon and Merman.
IV (Parts 1 and 2), The Colleen Bawn,
DruidMurphy (Best Supporting Theatre credits include The Walworth
Actress, Irish Times Irish Theatre Farce (Landmark Productions);
Awards), The Cripple of Inishmaan, Beckett’s Room (Dead Centre/Gate
Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Theatre); Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
DruidSynge (Best Actress, Irish (Young Vic); The Weir (Lyric Theatre);
Times Irish Theatre Awards), The and The Night Alive (Donmar
Beauty Queen of Leenane (Best Warehouse; Atlantic Theatre).
Actress in a Play, Tony Awards) and
The Playboy of the Western World; Television credits include Frank of
The Children and Crestfall (Gate Ireland (Channel 4, Amazon, Merman),
Theatre); and On Raftery’s Hill (Abbey Peaky Blinders (BBC), Taken Down
Theatre). (RTÉ), Resistance (RTÉ), The Bisexual
(Channel 4, Hulu), The Flag, Rebellion
Film and television credits include (RTÉ), Stonemouth (BBC) and Quirke
Pure Mule, When Brendan Met Trudy, (BBC, RTÉ).
Dancing at Lughnasa, The Butcher
Boy, The Van and Circle of Friends. Film credits include Death of a Ladies
Man, Hellboy, Angela’s Christmas,
Marie is a founding member of Druid Phantom Thread, Logan Lucky,
Theatre Company. Mother!, Psychic, The Flag, Assassin’s
Creed, History’s Future, Stay,
Darkness on the Edge of Town, Serious
Swimmers, Standby, Snow White and
the Huntsman and How to Be Happy.
16 17
Marie Mullen and Brian Gleeson in rehearsal. Photo: Barry Cronin 18 19
LOUISE LOWE CONOR MITCHELL
DIRECTOR COMPOSER
Awards), Torch (St. Helen’s), Hentown Intolerance (Tete a Tete Festival);
(Dublin City Council), These Rooms The Musician (Belfast Ensemble);
(CoisCeim/London International Shadowtime (Royal Festival Hall);
Festival of Theatre/NOW1418/Dublin Requiem for the Disappeared
Theatre Festival), PALS (National (Spark Opera, ACNI); the sinfonietta
Museum of Ireland), Angel Meadow 20: Ceasefire (Kabosh/Ensemble);
(HOME Manchester - Best Production Abomination: a DUP Opera (Best
and Best Ensemble, Manchester Opera Production at the 2020
Theatre Awards), Laundry, The Boys Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards).
of Foley Street and World’s End Lane. His award-winning song cycle Ten
Plagues (Royal Court, Traverse
As a freelance director, her theatre Theatre) was recently revived
credits include Test Dummy (Theatre at Wilton’s Music Hall, London,
Upstairs); Deep (Cork Opera House); performed and released by the pop
The End of the Road (Fishamble); singer Marc Almond.
Across the Lough (Performance
Corporation); Secret Street, He is currently working on a Mass for
AS A THEATRE MAKER, Louise Right Here Right Now, The Baths CONOR IS A multi award-winning the Ulster Orchestra, and a major new
makes site-specific and immersive and Demeter Project (Prime Cut opera/music-theatre composer, opera The Trial of Harvey Weinstein
art works within communities of Productions). librettist and stage director. He is for the Belfast Ensemble.
space, place and interest. founder and Artistic Director of The
Film and television credits include Belfast Ensemble, an Ivor Novello
Since co-founding ANU in 2009, she Fair City (RTÉ); Falling Out of nominee and the recipient of the
has directed all of the company’s Standing and Hawks Nest. Arts Council Northern Ireland Major
multi-award winning work to date, Individual Artists Award - the highest
including The Party to End all Parties honour bestowed by the body.
(Dublin Theatre Festival), Canaries
(Dublin Port), Faultline (Gate Theatre/ Recent scores/collaborations include
Dublin Theatre Festival), The Anvil his Concertino for Flute & Orchestra
(Manchester International Festival), (Ulster Orchestra); the operas Our
The Lost O’Casey (Abbey Theatre/ Day, The Garden the Ghost and
Dublin Theatre Festival - Best the Butterfly (NI Opera); Message
New Play, Irish Times Irish Theatre for Marty (Irish National Opera);
20 21JOAN O’CLERY
COSTUME DESIGNER
THREE-TIME WINNER of The Irish
Times Irish Theatre Award for
Best Costume Design, Joan has
originated the costumes for several
world premieres by major Irish
writers, including Seamus Heaney,
Brian Friel, Tom Murphy and Frank
McGuinness.
Her costumes are regularly seen
on many stages around Ireland.
Highlights of her costuming work
include Macbeth at the RSC; An
Enemy of the People at the Gate
Theatre; DruidMurphy for Druid and
She Stoops to Conquer at the Abbey
Theatre.
For Landmark, she has costumed
The Approach, The Second Violinist
(co-produced with Irish National
Opera) and Woyzeck in Winter (co-
produced with Galway International
Arts Festival). Opera designs include
La Traviata for ENO, Dubliners for
Wexford Festival Opera and Madama
Butterfly for Irish National Opera.
Twice nominated for IFTA awards for
her screen work, films include King of
the Travellers, Swansong, Snap, Out
of Innocence, Dating Amber and The
Delinquent Season.
Brian Gleeson in rehearsal: Photo: Barry Cronin
22 23MARY TUMELTY CAMERON MACAULAY
LIGHTING DESIGNER SOUND DESIGNER
MARY HAS CREATED the lighting CAMERON IS A COMPOSER and
design for a wide range of media sound designer based in Dublin. He
including theatre, installations, film, also has experience as a director,
television and streaming. Mary actor and writer.
graduated from Queen’s University,
Belfast with a BA in Drama Studies. Theatre credits include Love and
Mary works at the Brian Friel Theatre Charity (Mother Tongues Festival);
at Queen’s University and the Grand Some Names Were Changed
Opera House, Belfast. (Dublin Fringe Festival), Cleft (Rough
Magic, in association with Galway
Lighting design credits include International Arts Festival and
Abomination (Belfast Ensemble/ Kilkenny Arts Festival); Everything
Outburst Festival Arts); Body Between Us (Rough Magic); The
Politics (Macha Productions, in Water Orchard and Bears in Space
association with The Mac Theatre); (Collapsing Horse).
and Kindermusik (Belfast Children’s
Festival). Installation design credits He recently scored his first feature
include Crazy Golf (Craigavon); and film, Rebecca’s Boyfriend (Vah Vah
Airtastic (Abbey Centre). Films), which will be commencing
its festival run at the IndieCork Film
Associate Lighting Design credits Festival in 2021.
include Christmas for Dummies
(Grand Opera House); and Shirley Cameron was selected to be a
(Lyric Theatre). participant on SEEDS 2014–15,
a development programme for
Film, television and streaming credits emerging theatre artists run by
include Conversations with Friends Rough Magic.
(Element Pictures / BBC Three / Hulu),
Ten Plagues, The Musician (Belfast
Ensemble); and Democracy Dances
- For Orchestra and Electronics
(Belfast Ensemble / Ulster Orchestra).
24 25THANK YOU JOIN THE CONVERSATION
We are grateful to the following for their help with this production:
Lara Beach, Belle Boss, Sara Cregan, Ben Finucane, Sean Foley, Paul Glaser, Thank you for joining us to watch
Candice Gordon, Günther Grosser, Karl Hayden, Paul Keogan, Meike Krüger,
The Saviour by Deirdre Kinahan.
Daniel Nicolai, Ruairi O’Connor, Jonathan Shankey, Paula Meehan, Nik Quaife,
Christine Sisk, Rachel West and Lily Williams, together with Sophie Motley,
Seán Kelly, Naomi Daly and all at The Everyman, and Lorraine Maye, Allyson
Join the conversation online using the hashtag
O’Sullivan, Conall Ó Riain and all at Cork Midsummer Festival.
#TheSaviour.
Deirdre Kinahan would like to thank:
Matt Applewhite, Michael B, Anne Clarke, Georgia Gatti, Nick Hern, Eleanor
White, Matthew Warchus, Julie Walters, Lily Williams, the amazing creative
team for this production, Marie, Louise, Brian and, as always, my wonderful
@LandmarkIreland
family Gary, Siobhra and Sadhbh.
We’d love to hear your thoughts.
FUNDING Should you have any comments you’d like to share with us
please email live@landmarkproductions.ie
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The production of The Saviour is made possible by Arts Grant
Funding from The Arts Council. Its presentation at Edinburgh
Festival Fringe is supported by Culture Ireland.
26 27Deirdre Kinahan and Marie Mullen in rehearsal. Photo: Barry Cronin 28 29
landmarkproductions.ie @LandmarkIreland
You can also read
