We're mid-Dublin-theatre- season, but the Minister for Arts (or Sports or Tourism) is nowhere to be seen. Minister John O'Donoghue was due to open the Dublin Theatre Festival at the new Liberty Hall Theatre last Sunday night, but cancelled, writes Deirdre Falvey.
"We had couple of days notice in advance. I was disappointed - it would have been a nice one, but there you go," said DTF director Fergus Linehan
Then the Minister was due to open Theatre Shop's conference yesterday, but had to cancel because of Nice Treaty engagements. Jane Bailey of Theatre Shop was disappointed. "It was his first opportunity to address the theatre sector - the conference is attended by 90 per cent of theatre and dance organisations in the country. We only have one a year so it's a missed opportunity in light of the international delegatesattending."
The Minister was also to attend tomorrow night's Equity 50th birthday party, to finish this weekend's celebrations but has cried off: Secretary General of the Department, Phil Furlong, is stepping in.
Belfast blooming
The Belfast Festival hits the 40-mark this year and Stella Hall, in her own second year at the helm, was in great birthday form when she announced this year's programme in Dublin this week. There's a rhythmical theme - they call it Sounding the City - to this year's festival, starting with a free aerial musical event outside the Waterfront with French open-air troupe Transe Express and Beat Initiative from Belfast. The Falling Upward of Things is composer Ian Wilson and artist Ian Joyce's work inspired by teh Titanic. Booker winner Peter Carey's words are staged for the first time in the world premiere of The Chance, adapted by Jackie Doyle and presented by Prime Cut. South African director Yael Farber's production of Sezar, a multi-layered adaptation of Julius Caesar with the music and languages of South Africa. British/ Asian choreographer Akram Khan teams up with sculptor Anish Kapoor nad composer Nitin Sawhney to create a show aiming to bridge the worlds of contemporary dance and Indian classical dance. The festival, which runs from October 25th to November 10th, also features a public interview with Mo Mowlam, a show for one person (yes) at the Old Museum, Hurricane, a one-man show about Alex Higgins, and, following last year's 24-hour Mikado, Let's Make My Fair Lady...in a Day. www.belfastfestival.com or 028 9066 5577
Head
A funny little story cropped up in the Stage newspaper last week, under the headline "Mobile user taking the Michael".
"Tom Hanks and John Hurt were among the packed celebrity audience at the Donmar Warehouse for the first night of 'Uncle Vanya' but the second half of the show was spoilt for a number of people in the circle when a gentleman started text messaging on his mobile all the way through until the end of the performance.
Several people went up to the man in question afterwards and complained bitterly. The gentleman turned round to one and said: "Oh don't worry, this piece of work is robust enough to take it." "Excuse me but text messaging and Chekhov do not mix", replied the livid punter.
Who was the gentleman sending text messages? Step forward Michael Colgan, artistic director of the Gate Theatre, Dublin.
Tsk, tsk."
The story was picked up by the Daily Mail during the week. Anything in it, Michael?
head
"Ireland's newest and most exciting multi-venue performance space," which holds its formal opening gala concert on Wednesday, October 16th, has already opened its doors to public and press. The 1,260-seat Mahony Hall has a spacious air and there's a warm feeling from the generous wooden finish. The main auditorium of the NCH, Dublin's mainstay for classical music lovers for over two decades, seems almost uninviting by comparison. A fleeting audition of the Mahony Hall (named after Tim Mahony for his financial support of the project) with the RTECO in rehearsal suggests that neither the glassy brightness of the Earlsfort Terrace acoustic nor its extremes of variability from location to location within the hall are going to be replicated at The Helix.
The RTECO will give the bulk of its Dublin concerts in The Helix. But, although the players will have to rehearse elsewhere (rather than rehearse and perform in the new hall as originally planned) they will surely relish the benefits of the new space, which include backstage facilities to put the working end of the Earlsfort Terrace building to shame. The Helix also has a stage that's actually large enough to accommodate a full symphony orchestra (the NCH requires stage extensions for this), and the National Symphony Orchestra will try it out for the first time on Sunday, October 27th, as part of RTE's new Living Music Festival, focusing on the work of Luciano Berio.
The RTECO and the National Chamber Choir perform at the gala opening, and the Russian State Philharmonic Orchestra under Valery Polyansky give an all-Tchaikovsky programme on Monday, October 21st.
The other spaces at The Helix, the 450-seat theatre (with an orchestra pit that can accommodate up to 50 players), and The Space, a 150-seat experimental venue, are both welcome venues in Dublin. The theatre boasts one of the largest stages in the country, making the small audience capacity a matter of regret to some people. The Helix, says director Nick Reed, has to be run on a commercial basis, without any subsidy whatsoever - the Arts Council appears to have been tardy in even recognising its existence, and Dublin City University, which built it with private money, is prohibited from supporting it from educational funds.
Hiring fees, says Reed, range from under ¤1925 to ¤4,250 depending on the event and day of the week (the NCH ranges from ¤1,400 to ¤4,800), with the theatre costing from ¤938 to ¤2,000 and The Space from ¤563 to ¤1,000 (the NCH's John Field Room can be had from ¤400 to ¤650); both venues also take a 10 per cent commission on box-office income.
There is a lot of scepticism in the air about The Helix, just as there was when the NCH and IMMA were in their infancy. Both of those, of course, have the benefit of state subsidy. And it's certainly true that the NCH, which is losing a tranche of bookings from the RTECO, is going to feel competitive heat like it never has before. The good news for The Helix is that the scepticism is at its weakest from people who've actually been out to see a building which could well transform the experience of going out in Dublin. And then there's the designated site for the new national academy for the performing arts, just a stone's throw from the new centre.
Michael Dervan
Head
There's a job going at the Gate Theatre. Anne Clarke, co-deputy director leaves the theatre after 18 years there at the end of December to set up an independent production and management company, producing work here and touring Irish productions internationally. Hence the ad for Head of Planning was advertised last week in this paper.
Meanwhile, Martin Fahy retires as general manager of the National Theatre next Friday, after 29 years at the theatre - he started as accountant there - during which time he worked with no less than nine artistic directors!