Nomad and Livin’ Dred offer re-imagined Tarry Flynn
Those in the know in local theatre are really looking forward to the Nomad Theatre Network and Livin’ Dred Theatre re-imagined production of Patrick Kavanagh’s Tarry Flynn, which is coming tot Mullingar Arts Centre this month.
A heroic tale of internal conflict and the weight of expectation, set in 1930s Cavan, the novel tells the story of farmer, poet and aspiring lover, and his quest for big fields, young women and the meaning of life.
The book was first produced as a play at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin in 1966, from an adaptation by PJ O’Connor.
Tarry’s story is one of personal discovery that sifts through themes Kavanagh’s poetry was so adept at probing: sexual politics, isolation, poetry, farming, the Irish person’s relationship with the land, and how every little act can became a wonderful miraculous work.
Actor Manus Halligan and director Aaron Monaghan ensure that the play stays true to its roots. Manus said: “The original show, adapted for stage by Conall Morrison in 1997, included as many characters from the novel as possible. That production had 27 actors – we are staging it with nine actors playing up to 50 roles.”
The troupe are: Bryan Burroughs, Colin Campbell, Alexandra Conlon, Manus Halligan, Megan McDonnell, Niamh McGrath, Sarah Madigan, Matthew Malone and Seamus O’Rourke.
Monaghan is an award-winning director and he presents an ambitious, imaginative and highly-physical staging. The actors only play a multitude of characters and also portray a number of animals in the course of the show: “I’m playing about seven characters – including a duck and a crow,” said Manus.
He added that the poignancy and humour of the original are retained: “It’s about making it as ‘real’ as possible, while still having the craic. There are 63 scenes in 85 pages. It clips along, and Tarry is at the heart of the work.
“We join him on his journey as he discovers he may need to leave Cavan and go elsewhere. It’s an examination of the feeling that you ‘don’t fit in’, so perhaps the best thing is to just leave.”
The actor says the autobiographical nature of the work is something he has pondered: “You feel like Tarry Flynn is Patrick Kavanagh. He has this affection for women, mostly in his own head, but it causes him to panic when it’s in real life. I love how Cavan is represented in the story. The phrases and the dialect are so rich. The way Tarry’s mother talks. It all moves at 120mph. The colour and language of it are just class.”
Tarry Flynn is at Mullingar Arts Centre on Tuesday March 29 and Wednesday March 30 at 8pm.
Also at Mullingar Arts Centre
Neil Delamere, ‘Liminal’, Wednesday March 16: Neil Delamere, star of BBC’s The Blame Game, Fighting Talk and the Newsquiz, hits the road again with his new stand-up show, Liminal. Expect an evening perhaps best described as Schrodinger’s chat as our wisecracking comedic hero struggles to figure out this strange new world.
The murder of Michael Collins, Friday March 18: historical Entertainer Paddy Cullivan brings you the incredible story of the death of Ireland’s first Commander-in-Chief. In this audio-visual spectacular featuring hundreds of images, shocking new research and incredible songs, Paddy dares to unravel the secrets and lies of happened that fateful day in Béal na Bláth, August 22, 1922.
Did Michael Collins have a secret son in London? Was he really going to keep to the Anglo-Irish Treaty or was he planning to resume the war? If the anti-treaty side shot him, why did the Free State instigate a massive cover-up? How can one of the most important men in Irish history have no autopsy report, no investigation, inquest or even a death cert? And who really shot Michael Collins? Why is there such reticence from certain quarters, to this day, to find out the truth?
No less complex or mysterious than the death of JFK and with as many twists and turns, ‘The Murder of Michael Collins’ is a fascinating rollercoaster ride that will change your perceptions of Irish history forever.