Making MAGIC everyday out of the
You may see a clothes horse as a mundane household object but this playwright says imagination can turn the most humble thing into a fantastical creature
It may make for an unlikely hero in an unlikely setting but the humble clothes horse is about to take centre stage in a new play for children at the National Opera House. There is something, well, stable about a clothes horse. Over the years, my own vertical and horizontal stablemates have changed to suit circumstances.
I fondly remember the wooden clothes horse of my childhood. Then in bedsits in my 20s, I opted for the space-saving metal, vertical model: handy for tucking under sloping roofs. When I began living on my own as an adult and my now six-year-old twins arrived, it was time to go for the expansive type in line with my expanding family. And so a winged clothes horse came into our lives, with a sock carousel that always seemed to have fewer passengers at the end of an airing than the start.
In modern parlance, ‘clothes horse’ has come to mean a diva who likes to show off clothes; something at odds with the no-frills design of the structure itself. Pegasus was the natural name for our hero, however, given the likeness to the winged horse from Greek mythology.
During the Covid lockdowns, I started collaborating with a theatre collective called Super Paua on audio stories. The first story was Fiachra and the Biscuit Tin Garden, a bilingual Irish/ English production, and several stories on, producer Heather Rose – who now works under the name of Rose Producing – and the National Opera House are bringing the play Pegasus The Clothes Horse to the stage.
I wrote the script about a young girl called Fiadh, her mammy, her mum and their clothes horse Pegasus during a development process supported by the NOH with actors Elizabeth Rose-Browne, Sinéad Cormack, Amy Flood, Ciara Murphy, dramaturg Em Ball Ó Ceallaigh and Liza Cox.
For the live stage production, actors Maria Cunningham, Amy and Sinéad will be joined onstage by musical duo Carli Jefferson and Clair Le Couteur, aka Lunatraktors.
The musical duo use body percussion, vocals and bodhrán in the course of their performance and they will be making all the sounds for the piece live onstage, giving the audience a bird’s eye view of the sonic magic that usually takes place behind the curtain. ‘Our role is to conjure different imaginary worlds through sound,’ says Clair. ‘We make the
‘YOU CAN REDISCOVER A SENSE OF WONDER IN THE WORLD’
sound effects, the music and also the voices of some of the more magical characters.’
These fantastical creatures include a Sock Chorus.
The essence of the play is finding the beauty in the mundane – in everything and the kitchen sink, handy to have around if anyone decides to play the spoons at short notice. The
Fleadh is coming to Wexford this year, after all.
Carli previously performed in Stomp and ‘was never allowed to play the sink. Ironically, that was a role generally reserved for men! Sinks are amazing for sound, like a steel drum or a xylophone if you find the special spots and the right way to tap it. Adding water to the mix makes it even more exciting, because water bends sound. We love traditional instruments too, of course. But when you find the unexpected possibilities in everyday, domestic things – and the huge range of sounds available from just our voices and bodies – you can rediscover a sense of wonder in the world, and share that with other people.
‘That’s what Pegasus is about: that the everyday world can be filled with magic, and that the imagination is precious. It’s not just something for young children that we should grow out of.’
The seat of Wexford’s Festival Opera prides itself in celebrating ‘forgotten masterpieces’ and, spoiler alert, Pegasus herself is on the cusp of becoming forgotten. Her best pal Fiadh Pegg’s 8-yearold world is full of contradictions; some complementary, some not so much. Her two mothers represent the coming together of the worlds of traditional music and opera.
The story is one of belonging and is rooted in their home.
Having young children, it is important for me that the stories that they hear, watch and read are reflective of the diversity in our society. Theatre is a place where we all belong and as artists, it falls on us to play out all our stories; whether that is in terms of identity or inclusion of the Irish language.
Last year I brought my family to a children’s show. My youngest son stims and as we were taking our seats, a man in front of us turned around and gave my son the side eye and then rolled his eyes to his
wife who was directly in front of my son. None of the children in their party took any notice, I might add. This was not an adult getting drunk and rolling around the aisles singing the chorus to Mamma Mia or taking a phone call midperformance in the auditorium. It was a four-year-old child at a show for four-year-olds having their first theatre experience.
If Pegasus The Clothes Horse is the first theatre experience for any child, I want it to be a memorable one for all the right reasons. We have two relaxed performances for Saturday, 27 April, should that suit your circumstances.
Heather Rose has worked as a creative producer across the UK and Ireland and feels strongly about creating opportunities for young audiences.
This sense of inclusion and welcome unites the Pegasus ensemble, led by director Liza Cox.
‘I primarily champion work for young people,’ she says. ‘For me, it’s essential that theatre is a democratic space where everyone is welcome, and that starts from the first experience.’
There is one key distinction when it comes to theatre for young audiences – the reviewers. ‘I really treasure the honesty and genuine responses of children,’ says Heather. ‘If they aren’t enjoying something, they won’t pretend otherwise!’
Pegasus The Clothes Horse runs at the National Opera House from 25-27 April, see nationalopera house.ie for booking details