Anything goes at the Edinburgh Fringe, from the dazzling to the impenetrable, but audiences quickly recognise essential qualities, such as the ability to act. So it's no surprise that Des Keogh and Anna Manahan have been drawing crowds in Michael Scott's production of John B. Keane's The Matchmaker. Reviewers have praised the two actors lavishly, and Keogh has been nominated for a best-actor award from the Scotsman.
Andrew Bennet joins him on the shortlist for his memorable performance in Foley, Michael West's one-man show, directed by Annie Ryan for Corn Exchange. As George Foley, the last in a line of Protestant landowners, who reflects wryly on the choices he has made, Bennet "is gentle but insistent, cajoling the audience into plumbing the depths of his faltering memory", according to the Independent.
In rotation with Foley and Enda Walsh's Bedbound at the Traverse is Rough Magic's new production of Midden, Morna Regan's debut play. The story of five Irish women from three generations, it is set in contemporary Derry and explores mother-daughter relationships and the theme of exile. "Regan offers such a rich and lively human portrait of life in her corner of Ireland today . . . her play becomes irresistible. Lynne Parker's gently heightened naturalistic production is beautifully cast, featuring fine performances all round," said the Scotsman. Midden has been nominated for a Fringe First award.
Foley was first seen at last year's Dublin Fringe Festival, which has been an invaluable launch pad for new Irish writing over the past few years. This year's programme, announced on Monday, maintains the commitment, with new productions from the best of the independents - Pan Pan, Upstate, Meridian, Calipo, Red Kettle, Rough Magic (Midden), G·na Nua and Semper Fi, a newcomer - with visiting work from leading UK companies thickening the mix. The festival runs from September 24th to October 13th. You can book tickets at 1850-374643 or 01-6773850, or online at www.fringefest.com.
For more than six weeks, the Detroit press has been anxiously reporting on the health of the Estonian conductor Neeme JΣrvi, writes Michael Dervan. JΣrvi (64), music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, suffered a stroke in early July and had to cancel appearances at the Proms in London and the Salzburg Festival. The orchestra was hopeful that JΣrvi could conduct the European tour that will bring it to Ireland, Britain, Germany, Austria and Spain in October.
Even after Itzhak Perlman - the orchestra's principal guest conductor - had to step in for the opening of the new subscription season next month, the official line was that JΣrvi was expected to recover in time. Now, with barely a month to spare before rehearsals begin, Leif Segerstam, principal conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and the Royal Opera in Stockholm, has been announced as the replacement for JΣrvi.
He will not conduct the Detroit Symphony's pre-tour performances of the touring repertoire, however, giving strength to the criticism aired in Detroit that the orchestra's management was foolish to hold out so long for JΣrvi's recovery. A spokeswoman for the orchestra has confirmed that the repertoire for the orchestra's Dublin appearance, at the National Concert Hall, has not changed: Michael Daugherty's Rosa Parks Boulevard (from Motor City Triptych), Beethoven's Emperor Concerto (with Lars Vogt), Arvo PΣrt's Cantus In Memoriam Benjamin Britten and Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances.
Edited by Helen Meany
arts@irish-times.ie
