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PRODUCTIONSGRADUATE

2013/14

www.thelir.ie

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WE ARE THE LIR, A CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE, A HUB FOR GERMINATING TALENT, A TRAINING GROUND BUILT FOR BRILLIANCE AND THESE ARE OUR STUDENTS.

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ActorsStage Managers and Theatre Technicians

Rory CorcoranActor

Katie HonanActor

Alan Mahon Cameron Cuffe Kevin Olohan Lauren Coe

Liam Heslin Rachel O’Byrne

Rhys Dunlop Hannah Carnegie Karen McCartney

Rory Dignam Vanessa Emme

Katie Honan Conor Sweeney Ciara Nolan Cillian McNamara Michael Stapleton

Cathal Healy

Nathan Gaynor Jessica Byrne Rob DevlinRebecca Kennedy

Phil JenningsPhil Jennings Mary Kilduff Aaron Kennedy Neal Shirran

Rory Corcoran

Corrin Thomas Sophie Jo Wasson

Leon Kennedy

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Scenes fromthe Big Picture

The ProducTionCity life in one of the most troubled cities in the world. Twenty one characters’ lives are interwoven to produce a slice of life in Belfast; another day in a city full of stories that are crying out to be told. The stories of fighting siblings, cheating husbands and resistance in the face of adversity could originate from any inner city, the difference here is that a backdrop of violence is never far away.

The PLAYWriGhTBorn in Belfast in 1961, Owen McCafferty has been viewed as one of the most distinctive writers emerging from Northern Ireland. Scenes from the Big Picture was originally produced in 2003 at the National Theatre in London and won the John Whiting Award, the Evening Standard’s Charles Wintour Award for New Playwriting and the Meyer-Whitworth Award.

The direcTorNona Shepphard is an internationally acclaimed Director and Playwright who started her career as an actor in Liverpool. She has over one hundred and fifty productions and forty commissioned plays to her credit. Her plays for young people have received several awards and been seen all over North America and Europe. She is an Associate Director of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, International Advisors to The Lir and in that capacity has been central to the development of The Lir since its inception.

By Owen McCafferty

Directed by Nona Shepphard

Venue: Studio One

Performances: Thursday 17th October – Wednesday 23rd October, 7.30pm

Matinee: Friday 18th October, 1.00pm

The Guardian

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“McCafferty’s canvas is packed with vivid characterisations, from drug dealers and

junkies to intimidated shopkeepers”

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Schiller’s Mary Stuart

The ProducTionMary Stuart, one of the great classics of European theatre, depicts the last days of Mary Queen of Scots. Mary Stuart is imprisoned in England for the murder of her husband Darnley but more importantly for her claim to the English throne, which at that time was held by her cousin Queen Elizabeth I. The play imagines a meeting between the two rivals and explores the possible conversation between Elizabeth, the cold-hearted politically driven Queen, who will do anything to hold onto her throne and Mary Stuart, the figurehead for Catholic revolutionaries conspiring to overthrow the Virgin Queen.

The PLAYWriGhTBorn in 1759 Friedrich Schiller was a German Poet, Historian, Dramatist and Playwright. Both physical freedom and spiritual freedom were themes that ran throughout his works and the psychology behind these constraints was of particular importance to his learnings. Schiller collaborated with Goethe to write a collection

of poems and later they formed the Weimer Theatre which became a leading theatre in Germany. Their partnership helped lead the renaissance of drama in Germany

The direcTorConall Morrison is a Director and Writer. Some of his many Abbey shows include: hamlet, The Tempest, Translations, Whistle in the dark, Last days of a reluctant Tyrant, Tarry Flynn, The colleen Bawn, The dandy dolls and The Freedom of the city. Amongst his shows for the Lyric Theatre, Belfast, are The crucible, Playboy of the Western World and conversations on a homecoming.He has directed for the Royal Shakespeare Company, The National Theatre, English National Opera, and for Cameron Mackintosh. He has written several plays and adaptations.

in a new version by Peter Oswald

Directed by Conall Morrison

Venue: Studio One

Performances: Thursday 28th November – Wednesday 4th December, 7.30pm

Matinee: Friday 29th November, 1.00pm

“Don’t hate Mary and Elizabeth because they’re powerful. On the other hand, don’t

love them just because they’re lonely”New York Times

Bold Girls

The ProducTionBold Girls explores the lives of four Belfast women revealing the complex relationships and the lies and betrayal that fester beneath. Cassie, Marie and Nora’s lives will never be the same again after the arrival of Deirdre, a teenage girl whose very presence has a devastating effect on the other three women.

The PLAYWriGhTRona Munro is a London based writer who was born in Scotland in 1959. Munro started writing professionally in 1981. Her work is not limited to the stage as she has written for various other forms of media such as film, television and radio. She was awarded the 1991 London Critics Circle Theatre Award (Drama Theatre Award) for Most Promising New Playwright for Bold Girls.

The direcTorBased in Dublin, British Director Selina Cartmell is founder and Artistic Director of Siren Productions. Her productions include the multi-award winning Titus Andronicus, Macbeth, Medea and The Lulu house. In 2006 – 2007, Cartmell was theatre protégée in the Rolex Arts Initiative, mentored by Julie Taymor. Since then, Cartmell has directed several major plays for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Abbey Theatre and Gate Theatre and Theatre For A New Audience (New York). In 2013 she directed Shakespeare’s King Lear for the Abbey and override, a new play by Stacey Gregg (Watford Palace Theatre, London).

by Rona Munro

Directed by Selina Cartmell

Venue: Studio Two

Performances: Friday 29th November – Thursday 5th December, 7.45pm

Matinee: Tuesday 3rd December, 1.00pm

“Based on chats I had with women at two in the morning over a bottle of gin”

Rona Munro

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Twelfth Night

The ProducTionA bitter sweet play of sunshine and shadow. Twelfth night is Shakespeare’s greatest and most delicate comedy dealing with the nature of identity, gender and passion. Both brilliantly funny and achingly sad in equal measures, the play asks us to examine who we love and why we love.  It takes us on a journey of shipwreck, mistaken identity, excessive passion, self deception and most of all passion for life and living for the moment. It is the most hedonistic of Shakespeare’s plays and it urges us to make the most of every precious moment.

The PLAYWriGhTWilliam Shakespeare (1564 – 1616), an English poet and playwright, is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language. It is estimated that Shakespeare wrote or collaborated on nearly 40 plays and over 150 sonnets. First performed in 1602, Twelfth Night was originally written for the close of the

Christmas celebrations at the court of Queen Elizabeth 1.

The direcTorHilary Wood is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), where she held the Queen Elizabeth Coronation Scholarship. She is Senior Acting Tutor at The Lir, the London Director of the Georgian International Theatre Festival, an Associate Director of the Tumanishvili State Theatre, Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia and as well as directing at RADA she is also on the RADA audition panel.

by William Shakespeare

Directed by Hilary Wood

Venue: Studio One

Performances: Thursday 6th February – Wednesday 12th February, 7.30pm

Matinee: Friday 7th February, 1.00pm

“Twelfth Night... with its multifaceted plot mixing sweetness, sadness and silliness is

as surefire as Shakespeare’s plays get”New York Times

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The Night Season

The ProducTionThe night Season tells the story of three Sligo sisters who, abandoned by their mother 15 years previously, have been brought up by their cynical drunken father and their eccentric grandmother. Normal life is interrupted when a visiting film actor, playing the poet Yeats, comes to stay. Each sister is yearning for a different type of love and this young actor may be the catalyst for the escape they seek.

The PLAYWriGhTThe night Season is written by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, a British playwright born in 1968. It premiered at the National Theatre in 2004 and has been produced around the world to critical acclaim since. It received a number of awards including the Critics’ Circle Most Promising Playwright Award, and was also nominated for the Charles Wintour Evening

Standard Award in addition to the Susan Smith Blackburn Award. Lenkiewicz’s most renowned play, naked Skin,  premiered at the National Theatre in 2008 and broke new ground for modern writers as it was the first play by a living female playwright to be staged on the Olivier Stage at The National Theatre.

The direcTorDublin born Director Rachel West is the Artistic Director at RAW Theatre Company where she has worked in association with Project Arts Centre, the Dublin Theatre Festival, the Goethe Institute, the Norwegian Embassy,  as well as the Heidelberger Stückemarkt.  West is responsible for the Irish debut of some of the world’s most prolific modern playwrights including Jon Fosse, Falk Richter, and Abi Morgan.

by Rebecca Lenkiewicz

Directed by Rachel West

Venue: Studio One

Performances: Thursday 6th March – Wednesday 12th March, 7.30pm

Matinee: Friday 7th March, 1.00pm

Financial Times

“No politics, no issues, no history - just a bold attempt to grapple with the messy nature of

living. It’s also delightfully, rudely funny”

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Into the Woods

The ProducTionSondheim’s famous into the Woods premiered to critical acclaim on Broadway in 1987. It won several Tony Awards, including Best Score, Best Book and Best Actress in a Musical. Based on several Brothers Grimm fairy tales, the musical follows the Baker and his wife on their quest to break a curse that was placed on them by their evil next door neighbour, the Wicked Witch. Although the couple are successful with their mission, they have had to lie, cheat and steal from Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and Jack (and the Beanstalk). into the Woods is a musical with a conscience.

The PLAYWriGhTStephen Sondheim credits include music and lyrics for Sweeney Todd, A little night Music, Sunday in the Park with George and company, as well as lyrics for West Side Story and Gypsy. He also wrote music for cinema,

most notably for Warren Beatty’s reds and The Birdcage. He has won numerous Tony Awards as composer and lyricist.James Lapine is an American Stage Director who has won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical three times, for into the Woods, Falsettos and Passion.

The direcTorTom Creed is Festival Director of Cork Midsummer Festival. Previously he has been co-founder and joint Artistic Director of Playgroup, Associate Director of Rough Magic Theatre Company and Theatre and Dance Curator of Kilkenny Arts Festival. His work as a director includes: Watt by Samuel Beckett with Barry McGovern (Gate Theatre), Shibari by Gary Duggan (Abbey Theatre); TrAde by Mark O’Halloran (THISISPOPBABY), Berlin Love Tour (Playgroup).

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by James LapineOriginally Directed on Broadway by James LapineOrchestrations by Jonathan Tunick

Directed by Tom Creed with Musical Direction by Cathal Synnott

Venue: Studio One

Performances: Friday 23rd May –Thursday 29th May, 7.30pm

Matinee: Tuesday 27th May, 1.00pm

Financial Times

“His lovely score - poised between melody and dissonance - is the perfect measure

of our tenuous condition”

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This amateur production is presented by arrangement with JoSeF WeinBerGer LiMiTed on behalf of MuSic TheATre inTernATionAL of new York

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The Clearing

The ProducTionThe clearing is set in seventeenth century Ireland, where Cromwell’s army are ethnically cleansing their way across the land in preparation for British settlement. Thousands of Irish citizens are executed, shipped to the West Indies or forced to relocate to the wilds of Connaught. The clearing charts the story of a young couple from disparate backgrounds and depicts how their different upbringings affect their decisions when confronted with oppressive rule.

The PLAYWriGhTHelen Edmundson is a British writer born in 1964. Edmundson founded the female agitprop group Red Stockings in 1988, in which she worked as an Actor, Writer and Director. Best known for her adaptations of literary classics for theatre, Edmundson wrote her historical drama The clearing in 1993

which was first shown at The Bush Theatre, London where it was awarded the Time Out Theatre Award as well as being joint winner of the John Whiting Award.

The direcTorLynne Parker is one of Ireland’s most renowned Theatre Directors. She is Artistic Director and co-founder of Rough Magic. Productions for Rough Magic include Travesties, The house Keeper, Phaedra, don carlos, Taming of the Shrew, improbable Frequency copenhagen among others. Other work outside Rough Magic inclues productions for Druid, Tinderbox, 7:84 Scotland, and Opera Theatre Company. She is also an ambassador of The Lir.

By Helen Edmundson

Directed by Lynne Parker

Venue: Studio One

Performances: Thursday 26th June – Wednesday 2nd July, 7.30pm

Matinee: Friday 27th June, 1.00pm

“A linguistically and character rich story that engages our hearts and minds”

Curtain Up

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Pains of Youth

The ProducTionSet in the aftermath of World War I, Bruckner’s classic Pains of Youth is a melancholic tale detailing the lives of a group of highly sexed medical students residing in a boarding house in Vienna. Pains of Youth is a startling representation of an ill-fated, death-haunted generation, showing that neither money nor education guarantees an easy passage through the trials of early adulthood; a fact that may be hauntingly familiar to young adults in Ireland today.

The PLAYWriGhTPains of Youth is written by Ferdinand Bruckner, an Austrian-German Writer and Theatre Manager. Originally a musician, in 1916 he found himself heavily influenced by the expressionist literary scene in Berlin and produced a number of volumes of poetry as well as a literary magazine entitled

Marsyas. In 1928 Bruckner founded the Berlin Renaissance Theatre and went on to find his greatest success with the release of his theatrical works Pains of Youth and elizabeth of england.

The direcTorDirector Wayne Jordan is Associate Resident Director at The Lir where he contributes to the Master in Fine Art (Theatre Directing) degree. Jordan was Associated Artist at The Abbey Theatre (2010-2012) where his work there included Alice in Funderland, The Plough and The Stars and christ deliver us! Jordan’s production of Ibsen’s The enemy of the People ran at The Gate Theatre from May-July 2013 where he will also direct The Threepenny opera for the 2013 Dublin Theatre Festival.

by Ferdinand Bruckner, translated by Daphne Moore

Directed by Wayne Jordan

Venue: Studio Two

Performances: Friday 27th June – Thursday 3rd July, 7.45pm

Matinee: Tuesday 1st July, 1.00pm

Broadway World

“Pains of Youth…reveals what happens in that anxious, awakening moment when we

understand who we really are”

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Booking TicketsTickets can be booked via the events section on The Lir’s website (www.thelir.ie). On occasion tickets will also be available at the box office on the night, but do check the website beforehand for further information.

PricesAdults €15Concession €10

RefundsTickets are non-refundable except in the event of a show being cancelled or other exceptional circumstances.

LatecomersUnfortunately it will not be possible to allow entry once the show has started. Latecomers may be granted access during a natural break in the performance.

LocationThe Lir is situated on Pearse Street at Grand Canal Quay. It is a 15 minute walk from Dublin city centre. The closest DART stations are Grand Canal Dock and Pearse Street Station (both less than 10 mins walk from the theatre) and for intercity rail, Connolly Station is approximately 20 mins walk from the theatre.

ParkingOn street parking is available around The Lir.

Pearse Street

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Bachelor in ActingAll of the students performing in these productions are in their final year studying for a Bachelor in Acting degree. This three year course has been developed in association with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and is taught by highly acclaimed Irish and International industry professionals. At The Lir we have close connections with Agents, Producers and Directors allowing students the unique opportunity of building relationships as the course develops and thus leading to possible career opportunities. The Bachelor in Acting degree is an intensive course that is suited to committed, dedicated students who are willing to immerse themselves in the art of acting.

Applications for this course are accepted from November to February. Please see the website for more details.

Professional Diploma in Stage Management and Technical Theatre All of the students working behind the scenes on these productions are studying for a Professional Diploma in Stage Management and Technical Theatre. From day one these students have been allowed the opportunity to work hands on in a working theatre, learning the various skills needed to stage manage a production, operate lighting desks, control sound, produce technical drawings, make costumes and work alongside Directors and Actors to produce professional performances.

Application forms and further information on this course can be found on The Lir’s website.

And there’s more… The Lir also offers three Master in Fine Art degrees; Playwriting, Stage Design and Theatre Directing. The Stage Design course allows students to specialise in one area of lighting design, set design and costume design or to combine disciplines as desired.All three courses are available on a full-time or part-time basis. Further information and application details can be found at www.thelir.ie

The range of short courses at The Lir includes; Introduction to Acting, Young Actors’ Programme, Performing Shakespeare, Using Stanislavski’s System, RADA Shakespeare Certificates, The Clear and Confident Voice, Acting and Irish Theatre, Clown workshops and Audition Workshops Masterclass.

contact info@thelir.ie forfurther information ortelephone +353 1 896 2559

Technical sponsors

cover image: Vanessa Emme, Final year acting studentPhotographer: Michael Stapleton, final year Stage

Management & Technical Theatre student

Studying at The Lir

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