Encore present The Tempest
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DUNDALK’S Encore Productions are getting ready to take on their biggest challenge to day – bringing Shakespeare’s final play, the Tempest to stages across Ireland.
This is thanks to funding from Creative Ireland which has allowed them to bring this ambitious project to fruition, with the production opening in An Tain Arts Centre on Thursday night for a two night run before playing around the country.
Director Sandy Sneedon, says that the company, which is made up of users from the RehabCare Resource Centre, has spent much of 2017 preparing for this production.
‘As with all their productions, this adaptation of The Tempest has been devised with input from all the group,’ he explains. ‘Last year saw them involved in an immersive process of research as they got into the characters they would be playing through creating their own art work and poetry as well as improvising on the themes in the play – power and responsibility – love and desire – freedom and slavery.’
The group also teamed up with the Social Care Department of Dundalk Institute of Technology for an in depth study with a group of students there – resulting in art work and a performance on campus as well as an invitation to present their findings alongside contributors from all over Ireland at an Arts Portal Day in Dublin College University last May.
They also worked with Quintessence Theatre company – Drama Group in residence with An Tain Arts centre Dundalk for workshops to help bring a greater physicality to their performance,
‘Shakespeare’s works make great demands on any actor who performs in them which meant a busy rehearsal schedule had to be adhered to over the year, with two full days every week in The Outcomers hall and in An Tain where the group familiarised themselves not just with the stage but also with the technical elements of light and sound that they also would be controlling for themselves,’ says Andy.
He says that ‘ Audiences new to Shakespeare can rest easy as this performance has condensed the action into a fast paced hour long show mixing voice recordings of others from the RehabCare Centre along side stunning videos created by local film maker Cara Holmes.’
The cast features Paddy Durnin, Anita Guest, Jamie Linden, Kyle Norton, Olivia McGinnity, Melissa Fox, David Coyle, Moninna McCarthy, Rodger Zyro, Sandra Shields, Martin Hanley, Mary Frances McArdle and Oliver Hanratty while the crew includes Rachel Tinniswood and Grace O’Hanlon as stage managers, Jason Kelly on lighting. and Eileen Johnson as costumer designer.
As this is a smaller cast and crew than called for in their other productions to date, it is compact enough to allow the group to tour for the first time.
After taking to the stage at An Tain Dundalk they will head north to the Brian Friel Theatre in Queens University Belfast then South again to DCU Dublin before finally pushing West to NUI Galway where the tour will end.
The choice of venues is to allow students and community groups to share the inspiration of a beautiful production acted entirely by adults with intellectual disabilities and to encourage the audiences around the country to see the potential for their communities to follow the example of Encore.
Tickets for The Tempest, priced €8, are available from An Tain Box office, 042 9332332, or wwwatain.ie. Curtain up 8pm.