ARTSCAPE: 'DON'T JUST THINK of Friel as of our own times, as a fantastic writer and for his use of language, but see that he also connects to a broader tradition and that he resonates with our existence and adds to that existence.
And also that he has a sense of connection to his place in terms of events and geography.” That’s according to Jonathan Mills, composer, musician and director of the Edinburgh International Festival (EIF), who was in Dublin this week to mark the Gate Theatre’s Friel season during the world famous August festival.
This year’s EIF is inspired by the Enlightenment, Scotland’s place in the world, diasporas and homecoming, and Mills (originally from Australia) managed to weave all this, and more, into an eloquent and stimulating address about ideas and festivals. EIF was born in 1947, specifically to lift the spirit after the war, and Edinburgh was chosen because it was one of only three post-war cities whose infrastructure was sufficiently intact to host it. Like Topsy, of course, it grew and grew, and sprouted the other August festivals in the city, now totalling 10 (don’t ask me to list them). Together, they sell 2.6 million tickets – a figure topped only by the Olympics and World Cup events.
The Scottish Enlightenment – that incredible period in the 18th century which saw a huge surge of intellectual, artistic and scientific accomplishments – is the starting point for the festival. Events include music from anniversary giants Mendelssohn and Handel, alongside contemporary composers; a radical reimagining of JM Barrie's Peter Panby New York's Mabou Mines; a Belgian look at the fragile community of St Kilda; new work from choreographer Michael Clarke; the premiere of Rona Monro's The Last Witch, a new play about Scotland's last woman to be executed for witchcraft, co-produced with the Traverse; a recital by Bryn Terfel; the first staged production of Robert Henryson's epic poem The Testament of Cresseid;and Optimismafter Voltaire's Candide from Malthouse Melbourne. All this and the Gate's Friel season: Faith Healer, starring Ingrid Craigie, Kim Durham and Owen Roe; Afterplay, starring Francesca Annis and Niall Buggy; and The Yalta Game, starring Risteárd Cooper and Rebecca O'Mara. The Friel season was also presented in January to mark Friel's 80th birthday, as part of Fergus Linehan's final Sydney Festival (neatly enough, Linehan was at the Gate's Edinburgh event this week, fresh from his four-year stint down under).
The festival's other Irish link is the largest ever bequest to the festival, by Dubliner Léan Scully, who died in 2005 leaving €5.5 million to the EIF. Apparently she was fabulous company, a great conversationalist and debater, with a passion for life and the arts, and she enjoyed the festival for many years, often surrounded by a "cloud of crème de menthe", according to Mills. Her bequest goes to support festival artists in early career – this year the European Union Baroque Orchestra, young singers in a concert opera of Verdi's Macbeth,and 30-year-old oboist Alexei Ogrintchouk, who gives a recital at the Queen's Hall. See eif.co.uk
The Gate’s season at one of the world’s top arts festivals (following on from Druid/Synge there a few years ago), is a reminder of the significance of Irish culture internationally, especially now, as one of the few areas where our reputation has not been tainted by mismanagement, greed and corruption. So as things went from bad to worse this week, Arts Council chairwoman Pat Moylan restated the power and potential of Irish arts, saying Ireland can use the arts to reintroduce the country internationally. “At this time, our reputation is challenged in some international quarters. However, our arts and culture remain our greatest natural resource, and the Irish mind remains a key asset of this country. Ireland has supported creativity over many years and the country has the talent and the ideas from this to have hope for the future.”
President Obama, Moylan pointed out, recently said of Irish people that Americans and the rest of the world ‘are richer for their art and their literature, their poetry and their songs’. “In doing so,” she said, “he demonstrated how the arts are central to Ireland’s credibility and reputation. President Obama is right – and we can use the arts as a calling card for the country. At a time when we have lost one A in our credit rating, we need to highlight the many other As we earn, to show we are world class. We can point to the many Irish winners of major arts and culture awards, and stand proud.”
Meanwhile, in another part of town, as they used to say in a certain New York TV series, the 6th Dublin Gay Theatre Festival announced its programme (and Absolut as title sponsors). The fortnight-long festival which starts on the May bank holiday, will feature a diverse range of 40 drama, comedy, musical theatre and dance productions from Zimbabwe, South Africa, Australia, Canada and the USA, as well as Europe and the UK. Highlights include Frank McGuiness's acclaimed The Bird Sanctuaryat the Project; Loupe,a brave production from Zimbabwe which looks at a troubled society, sexuality, HIV and brotherly love; A Dog Called Redemption, about a friendship of two homeless men; and Silenciadosfrom Madrid, five separate stories from across the world tied together by a common theme of sexual discrimination. See gaytheatre.ie.
