Old gripes die hard. Despite fresh catastrophe, shareholder Ulick O'Connor was not deterred at last week's egm/agm from protesting, yet again, at what he perceives as the raw deal suffered by the Abbey after the enormous US success of Brian Friel's Dancing at Lughnasa in 1992, writes Belinda McKeon. Apparently, it's unspoken etiquette by now for the other shareholders to sit back and let O'Connor give his annual tirade on the matter.
What several of them didn't know on Saturday, however, was that a comparable situation may now be looming for the Abbey, as John McColgan makes plans to take The Shaughraun on a North American tour that may well include Broadway. And for what McColgan told Irish Theatre Magazine (itm) - which broke the story on this side of the Atlantic, Variety having done so in the US - were reasons of "expense" and "risk", it's not the Abbey itself, but McColgan and Moya Doherty's company, Abhann Productions, that will produce the tour in 2006, yet again the Abbey itself faces the prospect of making only a percentage out of the stateside success of one of its own productions.
The Shaughraun, which marked McColgan's debut as a theatre director, has been the most successful production in the Abbey's centenary programme - at 67 per cent box office sales, sailing well ahead of the year's average of just 41 per cent. Abhann Productions is the company behind Riverdance, so it's a brand name that will already have clout with US theatres and, arguably, audiences. Yet, given that McColgan is a board member of the National Theatre Society, and chair of the sub-committee given responsibility this year for raising the necessary funds to support Ben Barnes's centenary programme, the scent of yet another conflict of interests at the beleaguered Abbey is in the air. Given that the fundraising committee's inability to hit the hoped-for target of €3.4 million has effectively doubled the additional deficit the Abbey will chalk up this year, is it appropriate for McColgan to cart away, for the coffers of his own company, the only success of the centenary programme which his committee has arguably failed? In this light, the €400,000 that McColgan and Doherty were revealed to have contributed to the centenary pot (in a document circulated by Barnes at Tuesday's e.g.m.) looks like scant consolation.
Despite having boasted to Variety journalists that "Broadway's looking at us", and telling itm that Abhann and the Abbey are "very excited" at the prospect of a tour, McColgan this week decided that it would be "premature" to talk (or even, according to his office, to write) about the tour. Certainly, 2006 is some time off yet, and US venues can be less stringent about sticking to dates than are theatres here. But questions remain. How many other promoters were approached by the Abbey to produce the tour? Did McColgan's position, ironically, give him first dibs on the opportunity? And did Ben Barnes foresee this potential pitfall when he secured McColgan as director of the production? The difficult questions won't go away.
Voyage of discovery
With the theme of this year's 42nd Belfast Festival at Queen's being Journeys and Migrations, festival director Stella Hall - recently appointed head of culture and arts at Queen's University - talked at the launch with her usual passion and enthusiasm of ". . . journeys of the mind, the spirit and the imagination, taking festival-goers around the world in 18 days".
The voyage of discovery begin on 22 October with "Veles et Vents - Sails and Winds", an award-winning spectacular on the River Lagan, originally created and produced for the opening of the Channel Tunnel by the Spanish company Xarxa and since performed in 34 countries.
From there it is but a short stroll into the main house of the Waterfront for the event which is being widely hailed as the highlight of the programme - Neil Martin's new commission for uileann pipes, tin whistle and orchestra. No Tongue Can Tell was inspired by the migration, to the US, of Martin's maternal grandparents and was created for piper Liam O'Flynn. Other potential international treats include the arrival of Ibrahim Ferrer and his 16-piece band from Havana's Buena Vista Social Club; the multimedia Alladeen, set in the unpromising environment of Bangalore call centres and presented by New York's The Builder's Association and motiroti of London; and the Budapest company Kretakor's minimalist production of The Seagull - a UK and Ireland exclusive.
Former National Theatre director turned film director Richard Eyre, writer Ronan Bennett and poet Paul Durcan head the BT Talks programme; Dom Joly, Jimmy Carr and Ross Noble feature in the comedy spots.
The haunting music of Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara will be performed in the glorious surroundings of Clonard monastery and the whole bonanza ends on November 7th with the world premiere of John Tavener's Hymn of Dawn, commissioned by the Ulster Orchestra for the Festival.
For details, tel. Belfast 9097 2626 or see www.belfastfestival.com
Reprieve for new music
The dark clouds that have hovered over composers in Northern Ireland since the Contemporary Music Centre (CMC) in Dublin announced the withdrawal of services from October 1st have lifted slightly. Last week the Arts Council of Northern Ireland (ACNI) deferred a decision on introducing a range of new, Belfast-based services for composers in the North. And now CMC chairman, Dr Joseph Ryan, is to recommend to his board that the CMC continues to service Northern Irish composers beyond the October deadline.
Representatives of CMC (which ceased to be an ACNI client after failing to apply for funding this year) will meet representatives of ACNI early in October. Ryan expects the CMC board to continue its current level of service "while we engage in those discussions". CMC remains concerned about what Ryan has called "a change of strategic direction in ACNI's support for new music," and the centre has long been campaigning for greater funding from the north. Robert Collins, ACNI's arts development officer for music, opera and bands, sees the October meeting as an opportunity "to clarify the situation for all parties, and to take any input CMC may have on the proposals we're offering to council". The good news is that, in the short term, composers in Northern Ireland will no longer be at a disadvantage while ACNI and CMC iron out their differences.
Secrets of Clifden
Booker prizewinner Kazuo Ishiguro once referred to the Clifden Arts Festival as "Ireland's best kept secret", and the same might apply to its organiser, the Clifden Community School teacher, Brendan Flynn. Try finding much mention of Flynn's name in this year's festival programme, for instance! As usual, he and his committee have ordered a rich feast, with a menu of music, theatre, song, dance and more from September 16th to 26th. Even before the official opening on Thursday by new Arts Council director, Ms Mary Cloake, there's a musical tribute to Billy Mulholland on September 15th in the Abbeyglen Castle Hotel.
Thursday's opening incorporates the publication of the Clifden Anthology, 2004, which will be marked by Joe Woods, director of Poetry Ireland from 8pm. That night there will be music with P.J. Murrihy and Seamus Shannon, and a late-night audience with broadcaster George Hook at the Station House Hotel.
Archaeologist Michael Gibbons leads a field trip to Inishbofin on Friday morning, and the first in a series of school visits as part of the festival's school arts and education dimension will be undertaken by Scottish poet and children's author, Kenneth Steven. He also gives a public reading at noon on Saturday.
Comedy is represented by Brendan Grace and Kevin McAleer, and music ranges from Diz Watson playing New Orleans blues and boogie to Paul Brady, Mundy, the Dordan group, John O'Conor and the Contempo String Quartet. Poets and writers booked include Maire Mac an tSaoi, Paul Durcan, Richard Murphy, Cathal Ó Searcaigh, Tony Curtis and Moya Cannon.
There will be various art exhibitions, mostly at the Clifden Community School and the West Connemara Leisure Centre. A traditional concert with North Cregg takes place on September 25th, during a day filled with duck races, street theatre, samba music and a parade at 8 p.m. with Macnas, the Belfast Circus, local national schools, Clifden Community School and a display by Fireworks Ltd.
For more information on the 27th Clifden Community Arts Festival, tel. 1850-357035 or see www.clifdenartsweek.org