Fresh twist on Oscar Wilde’s legacy at the Everyman
AS part of their national tour the Pan Pan Theatre Company will bring their acclaimed production ‘ The Importance of Nothing’ to the Everyman Palace Theatre three-night run from Monday, April 9.
One of Ireland’s most exciting experimental theatre groups, Pan Pan has a reputation for taking the work of seminal Irish playwrights and re-contextualising the text with contemporary and often abstract themes.
In this production they have taken the work of Oscar Wilde, using its wit, characters and themes to explore issues of sexuality and the norms of modern society.
The play is set in an imaginary prison where inmates are subject to intensive dramas therapy under the control of haughty therapist Lady Lancing (from The Importance of Being Earnest) who bases her anti-homophobic workshops on Oscar Wilde’s works.
Over the course of the thought-providing comedy three prisoners are encouraged to de-construct Wilde’s writings and explore their context and meaning and, using their own life experiences, put everything back together for an experimental performance.
Directed by Gavin Quinn and featuring an impressive cast including Una McKevitt, Mark O’Halloran and Andrew Bennett, the play is laced with the kind of nuanced dark humour and playful innuendos that are a hallmark of Wilde’s work.
Tickets for ‘ The Importance of Nothing’ are available from the Everyman Palace box office on 021 450 1673 priced at €20/€18.
To view some of the reviews the play has received visit www. panpantheatre.com.