Smock Allies : Scene + Heard is a festival of new work across music, dance, theatre, comedy and spoken word arts genres. It provides a chance for artists to test an excerpt of previously unseen work or new ideas / formats in front of a live audience in order to get feedback before mounting and staging full length productions. Here tn2 staff choose a few of their favourites.
The WIN
The WIN is an affecting and charged piece of drama that throws much needed light onto the extraordinary work done by the Women’s Information Network in the wake of the 8th Amendment being passed in Ireland in 1983. The WIN was established in 1987 as a place that women could turn to in the event that they wanted to seek information about abortion in Ireland. Written and directed by Cara Brophy-Browne and Tara Louise, the play aims to provide a damning indictment of the 8th and its crippling impact on the women of Ireland, decisively hitting its mark.
The powerful script is constructed around the exploration of six key themes relating to abortion in Ireland: History, Geography, English, Maths, Religion and Irish. These themes are made all the more striking because they represent the six subjects being taken at school, by a fifteen year-old caller to the WIN, who requests assistance with getting an abortion. It is an efficacious narrative device that forces the audience to appreciate the uneasy realities surrounding abortion in Ireland. The excellent principle cast of five females expertly guide the audience through the subjects set out by the teenager and their relation to women in Ireland’s struggle against the restrictive legislation that denies them the right to an abortion. A particular highlight, is the examination of Geography, which poignantly captures the trauma of the trip taken by thousands of Irish women each year to Britain in search of an abortion.
The stark brick surroundings of the Boys School is the perfect setting for the piece and evokes a feeling of uneasy piety that essentially underpins the whole conflict relating to abortion in Ireland to this day. The play is greatly enhanced by the excellent sound engineering between scenes that intercuts recordings of real life interviews from the women who volunteered at WIN, adding a striking authenticity to the production by giving a snapshot into the personalities of the ordinary women who worked with WIN. At the play’s conclusion comes the overt call to empower women in Ireland by granting them the right to an abortion. Here, Laoise Murray Morrison comes to the fore as the fifteen year-old girl with a emotive monologue that implores us to recognise the debilitating effect the restrictive legislation surrounding abortion has had and continues to have on women in Ireland.
Words by John Sampson
Bert
In an epilogue to Mary Poppins, Bert traces the events in the chimney sweep’s life in the lead up to the famous musical. Written by William Penswick, directed by Ciara Fleming and starring Benedict Esdale and Caitlin Scott, the short play demonstrates the rather dark side of Bert – far from the “chim-chiminey” singing role he later inhabits. Allowing the audience brief snapshots into Bert’s past, the play paints a sad picture of two young friends with few chances in the world. When the unfortunate events of life take over, tragedy strikes. With such a short run-time the actors do well to convey the desperate emotions at the heart of the characters – even if each of their characters struggle to fully express themselves to the other. Special mention goes to Scott for her resonating depiction of a distraught woman with nowhere else to turn. The use of a simple set design, intelligently adapted to the Boys School setting, allows for all focus to be on the characters’ moving narratives and the troubled relationship at the centre of it all.
Words by Elisabeth Rochford
The Mancunian Candidate
The Mancunian Candidate, a one-woman show written, directed by, and starring Paddy Jo Malpas, packs both laughs and astute observations about Irish society into its brief, twenty minute running time. Malpas is uproarious as a native of Manchester shipped to her aunt’s house in Ireland after a botched attempt to steal a load of underwear from a department store. She experiences immediate culture shock, aghast at everything from the dismal rain to her ankle length school skirt, and pines for the love of her parents. All is not lost however – salvation arrives in the form of a cousin who takes her under her wing, eventually asking her to be a bridesmaid for her upcoming wedding. The plot is necessarily razor-thin, and yet we never feel like we are missing out – Malpas is skilled at jumping from one emotion to another, and quick to elicit empathy from the audience. As such, we experience, at different times, her frustration, anger, and joy. The climax feels a little contrived, but this is easy to forgive in the context of a generally top-notch show. Malpas is clearly a talented performer, with charisma to burn – we can only hope this talent does not get diluted should she choose to write more long-form pieces.
Words by Conor Scully
Losing It
Losing It, directed by Ciara Haley and Hannah Harman Conlon, touches on so many fascinating ideas in its twenty-five minutes that it could easily have been three times as long. No less than ten characters appear in a series of vignettes describing virginity loss in a millennial world where everyone is forced to act like sex is devoid of meaning, even if for many it is anything but. The stories told here are ones to which most people can probably relate – a female character loses her virginity in a one-night stand, before being pressured by her friends to admit that she feels used; a same-sex tryst means much more to one person than the other. The writers are also unafraid to look at issues of consent and the role that alcohol plays in the formative experiences of many young adults. Heavy stuff, but Haley and Conlon balance this with lots of laughs, aided by a spritely cast that obviously has no difficulty relating to the material.
Words by Conor Scully
Scene + Heard runs at Smock Alley until 5th March. Tickets start at €12.
