Armagh Project 2015

“Untitled” July 21, 2015 Draft

“All cities are mad: but the madness is gallant. All cities are beautiful, but the beauty is grim.” -Christopher Morley

Look right, look left

Graffiti on a red brick wall, “Hater”

A couple, strung out, walking, eyes ahead

Look right, look left

Cracked pavement, weathered and beaten

Children play on a patchy square

Anti life propaganda tied to a post

Look right, look left

Blue bags of dog shit, piss in the doorway.

Dim signs, a busted neon light, “Op_n”

Look right, look left

Church bells ring, the soundtrack in a grey overcast.

I could flick a cigarette and know one would notice.

The Shadow of a Gunman was a thrilling experience. The frantic movement, the boistrous voices, and the audio aid helped the play in ways only a play could do, but there’s a couple things I’d like to say. During our reading of the play, I thought Davoren was just a tad younger and that Minnie was just a tad older. When I anticipated a grown man in love with a growing woman, I got a middle-aged man in love with a teenager and that put a spin on Mr. Davoren’s character for me. Another character whose appearance was different than what I imagined was Adolphus Grigson. I enjoyed Charles’ playing him off as a more relaxed but still ranting and raving drunk, so when I saw Adolphus on stage, I noticed that I was relating how I envisioned the characters to my first exposure with them.

But a play doesn’t have to meet expectations to be enjoyable. In fact, defying expectations is one way to have a play leave quite an impression. The Shadow of a Gunman, in all its hammy and silliness, has made its mark on me.

Before seeing the Abbey theatre’s production of the Shadow of a Gun, we had the privilege of studying the text of the play with Andrea Ainsworth, the resident voice coach for the theatre. During the workshop Ainsworth told us a bit about the direction of the production, and that it would have elements of modernism in efforts to place the world of O’Casey’s work into the context of today. The two elements that took this play into the twenty-first century were the set design and the opening and interlude sequences. The set of the turn-room was reminiscent of a minimalist, Urban Outfitter’s hipster loft; I could imagine it being in any modern city. It was easy to place myself into that space, although the story takes place in a Dublin tenement in the 1920’s. The beautiful choreography coupled with modern music in the opening scene and interlude had a film like quality that reflected how the audience currently watches entertainment. These sequences were essential in moving the plot along, and added depth or interpretations, rather, of the characters that I could not see just by reading the text.

I’m quite familiar with Shadow of a Gunman. I’ve read the play several times over the course of the last few years and seen a production produced by Kimberley Lynne at an Irish Heritage Festival back home in Baltimore. Which is why I was so impressed that the production that our group saw at the Abbey Theatre on Saturday night was able to so thoroughly surprise me. This was largely thanks to the productions overall effort to make the themes, the characters, and the physicality of the play bigger than what one typically expects of a piece of such historical significance.

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I spent my free time this afternoon quite wisely: I watched the Dublin v. Limerick in the County Leinster All-Ireland Over 21 Senior Final. And it was thrilling! Dublin and Limerick swapped leads at least five times over course of the game and Paul Ryan (no, not that Paul Ryan; I meant Dublin’s Left Center Forward) scored 12 points! 12! The final score ended up being 1-17 to 1-16 (goals-points) in favor of Dublin, a lead that was tenuous down to the final seconds of stoppage time. Their win will see them representing County Leinster in the All-Ireland Senior Championship.

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The production we saw of Shadow of a Gunman took a few interesting liberties with the production, changing the interpretation of the piece. When we read the piece in the hostel, it seemed like the idea of Minnie and Davoren was a sweeter pairing, but in this production, Minnie comes across as younger, even more naive. Continue reading →

We meet again, Dublin. It’s been some time. Last time I was in Dublin, I was part of a British Isles bus tour with my family, and only 17, so we saw what the bus tour wanted us to see, which did not include any of the non-tourist unadulterated real history we have been learning so far. I was also a stupid teenager with the usual goal of getting through the site-seeing just to get back to the hotel. I was more into Dublin this time, but I made a critical discovery for myself. I’m not terribly a city person. After our stay in Armagh, this feels like a mini vacation. But I’ve felt fairly tired here. I did explore a bit today, but I was very happy to return to the hotel and watch the hurling quarter finals. Congrats Dublin!

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