10 minute read
ARTS DIARY
Stone in His Pockets original director Ian McElhinney (third from right) pictured with the 25th anniverary production team: Iwan Lewis, Beth George, Matthew McElhinney, Fleur Mellor and Gregor Donnelly. Actor Gerard McCabe, Conleth Hill, writer Marie Jones, actor Shaun Blaney and director Matthew McElhinney.
James Skivington, Bernadette Sexton, Catherine and Tom Tyrrell. Martin Lynch and daughter Gráinne.
Kathy Hamilton and Aine Duff.
Stones in His Pockets
In 1996, Stones in His Pockets, written by Marie Jones and directed by Ian McElhinney, debuted at the West Belfast Festival before offi cially premièring at the Lyric Theatre. Since then, the play has toured the West End and Broadway and scooped three nominations for the Tony Awards, and won two Olivier Awards.
Twenty fi ve years later, this renowned production by The Barn Theatre once again made its way back to the stage of the Lyric Theatre. This time under the directorship of Marie Jones and Ian McElhinney’s son, Matthew McElhinney.
The red carpet première of the 25th anniversary iteration of Stones in His Pockets was a sell out with people like playwright Martin Lynch, The Barn Theatre’s CEO and artistic director Iwan Lewis, actor Conleth Hill, singer Peter Corry, and ‘Posh Radio 4 Lady’ and Ulster Tatler columnist Kathy Clugston, arriving in their droves to welcome this production home to Belfast.
Peter Corry and Fleur Mellor. Maebeth Fenton Martin and Grace Kennedy. Father and son, Ian and Matthew McElhinney.
Matthew McElhinney, whilst paying homage to the work created by his parents, very much adds his own stamp to this piece. Set in the world of today (given away by references to Amazon Prime, Macauley ‘McCulkin’, and The Dead Rabbit), Stones in His Pockets tells the tale of Jake Quinn (Shaun Blaney) and Charlie Conlon (Gerard McCabe), two extras on set of a big, budget Hollywood movie being fi lmed in rural Ireland. The play explores the confl ict between the Hollywood dream and its exploitation of people struggling in dispossessed rural Ireland - from farmers with no cows to tend to or down on their luck out-of-towners failing to make a fresh start.
Blaney and McCabe are glorious as Jake and Charlie. But, they also, seemingly effortlessly, meld into all the other characters on stage, from starlet Caroline Giovanni to famous extra Mickey. The fl uidity of these transitions is akin to watching an exquisitely choreographed dance. Speaking of dance, the duo have a number of memorable moments but the real showstopper was their Irish jig scene, choreographed by Fleur Mellor, which had the audience on their feet long before the end of the performance.
Being staged 25 years after the original has afforded Matthew McElhinney the opportunity to use cutting edge technology to add a new dimension to this re-imagining of the play. In addition to allowing audiences the opportunity to view the playback of the fi nal cut of scenes, it also allows the production to fully expand on the famous line, “The stars will become the extras and the extras will become the stars’’, as the genius use of green screen allows some of the biggest stars from Northern Ireland to become the real extras in this show.
The 25th incarnation of Stones in His Pockets is a roller-coaster of emotions which still resonates all these years later. It’s perfectly pitched, seamlessly weaving comedy and tragedy together to wonderful effect. Ultimately this is a play about selfbelief, friendship and courage to follow your dreams. Although stepping into mighty big shoes, Matthew McElhinney does it with aplomb. He’s an unmistakable talent and with such ingenious creativity on display, it’s no wonder the 25th anniversary Stone in His Pockets earned two standing ovations in one night.
ARTS DIARY
Conor Grimes, Jimmy Fay, Alan McKee. Clare McMahon, Jimmy Fay, Conor Mitchell and Paul McVeigh. Clare McMahon, Jimmy Fay, Conor Mitchell and Paul McVeigh.
Conor Mitchell, Belfast International Festival Director Richard Wakely and Matthew Cavan.
Patrick J O’Reilly and Tony Flynn. Michelle and Paul Maxwell.Emma Jordan. Richard Clements, Clare McMahon and Benjamin Gould.
The Lyric’s new season launch
At the recent launch of the Autumn /Winter season at the Lyric Theatre, executive producer Jimmy Fay said: “Here in the Lyric, new writing is at the heart of what we do.” And one look at the vivid new jam-packed programme, which showcases a new generation of writers as well as welcoming back fi rm favourites to its stages, shows just how true that is.
Guests, such as Richard Wakely of the Belfast International Arts Festival, actor Tony Flynn, and playwrights Richard Clements and Patrick J. O’Reilly, joined Jimmy Fay in remembering those from the theatrical world, such as Roma Tomelty, BJ Hogg, and Keith Ginty who have recently passed away. The launch was also an opportunity to acknowledge the changes the Theatre has experienced over the past two years. Although the doors may have been closed for 17 months, the creative and dynamic team were still furiously working away at delivering new content digitally and with partnerships such as the BBC.
Now that live theatre has returned, the line up at the Lyric for June-December season is bigger, bolder and stronger than ever. And guests at the launch got to enjoy a snippet of what is to come. Grimes and McKee had the audience in stitches with an excerpt of St Mungos The Ladies (9-21 August) and Emma Jordan, director of The Border Game spoke of the play’s upcoming tour, which will see it return to the Lyric once again (25-27 August). Belfast playwright Clare McMahon also chatted about the inspiration behind her new work, The Gap Year (3-25 September) which is a journey of craic, coffee shops and self-discovery for three women in their 60s. The audience was also rapt as Matthew Cavan and double Ivor Novellonominated composer Conor Mitchell performed a haunting song from upcoming Propaganda: A New Musical (8 Oct-5 Nov), which is an old fashioned Soviet love story set in Berlin in 1949.
One production I am also extremely keen to see is Big Man (27 Oct-13 Nov) a new play by local writer Paul McVeigh, which explores how two men in pursuit of love move beyond the barrier of age and confl icting gay experience.
The launch concluded with a look at the Lyric’s Christmas productions (which have something for everyone) and their new membership scheme, Lyric+, which is very budget friendly and promises perks like priority seating, new show exclusives and discounts.
On the night, Claire Murray, Head of Development & Marketing, said: “It’s wonderful to see that live theatre is well and truly back.” And I couldn’t agree more.
The new season launch at the Lyric took place on 9 June.
The 4th Wall theatre company: Michael Conaghan, Victoria Gleason, Mark Claney and Jane Hardy.
Belfast Lord Mayor Cllr Tina Black; Marion Hawkes owner Sound Advice; Rachel Kennedy, EastSide Arts Festival Director (centre); Charlotte Richardson, Translink; and William Leatham, Arts Council of Northern Ireland.
Annie Bethell, Mall McGlade and Maureen England. Michael and Patricia Davidson. Anna Montgomery and Kiera Bogues.
Julie McQuillan and Victoria Gleason. Ruairi Conaghan and Jane Hardy.
Bloomsday Festival
Bloomsday, which is a commemoration and celebration of the life of Irish writer James Joyce, was extra special this year as it marked 100 years since the publication of Ulysses. To honour Bloomsday - named after Leopold Bloom, the protagonist of Ulysses - I went to Waterstones, Belfast, as local theatre group 4th Wall brought Joyce’s words and characters to life in a scintillating display. 4th Wall, which is the brain child of journalist - and Ulster Tatler’s very own - Jane Hardy, and poet Michael Conaghan, curated a special collection of Joyce’s writings, all performed by talented actors Victoria Gleason and Mark Claney.
Effortlessly traversing through Joyce’s literary accomplishments, we journeyed from a playful extract from Ulysses, of Leopold Bloom and his cat (Gleason’s meowing cat declared the most realistic cat Conaghan has heard in a long time) to a haunting extract from short story ‘The Dead’ where Gretta mournfully tells Gabriel the sad tale of Michael Furey. The evening’s climatic conclusion came from Gleason’s impassioned delivery of Molly Bloom’s seductive and powerful soliloquy from Ulysses. The audience were utterly captivated by the time she had fi nished.
As Jane Hardy said of Ulysses, it “changed our view of what was possible between the covers of a book”, and guests, such as actor Ruairi Conaghan, enjoyed this thrilling offering which aptly paid tribute to the quality and literary importance of Joyce’s works. With such a talent for curation and presentation, I can’t wait to see what 4th Wall produces next.
4th Wall’s Bloomsday Festival took place on June 16.
EastSide Arts Festival is back
EastSide Arts Festival celebrates its 10th birthday this summer, 4th–14th August and everyone is invited!
Packed full of unique, exciting events, festival goers will enjoy music, theatre, fi lm, literature, walks, talks & tours, comedy & cabaret, family focused and community events for all ages.
The celebrations will feature over 100 artists across more than 80 events taking place in a range of venues in east Belfast. Highlights from the Festival include, Hot House Flowers (4th August); Park Fest (6th August); Hairspray (4th August);
David Hull Promotions Presents Cash Returns - The Johnny Cash & June
Carter Tribute Show (11 August); Dig
with It magazine presents… New Pagans, Lemonade Shoelace and
Winnie Ama (12th August); and Billy Boy by Rosemary Jenkinson (4th August) to name a few.
The EastSide Arts Festival is supported by Principal Funder, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, funders Belfast City Council, National Lottery Awards for All and Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland, Principal Sponsor Translink, sponsors Connswater and
