Isolation the theme of Hawk’s Well play
CallBack Theatre will return to the Hawk’s Well tomorrow ( Wednesday) with their new play, ‘Janey Dillis, Queen of the Wild Inter...ior’.
Written and directed by John Sheehy and performed by Cora Fenton, the play centres on the character of Janey, who hasn’t left her house in twenty-five years.
No one has even set foot inside her house in twenty years which up till now has been just the way she likes it. The audience will be the first people to meet Janey in all this time.
As her situation escalates, Janey is forced to question her way of life and deals with her predicament through her wild imagination.
She is prone to fantastical flights of fantasy that reveal much of her inner self and the wider world that has caused her to become trapped.
CallBack Theatre’s last show, Fred & Alice was awarded a seven week Touring and Dissemination Grant by the Arts Council and was highly acclaimed by audiences and critics alike.
Fred & Alice was thoroughly enjoyed by the Hawk’s Well Theatre audience.
John Sheehy explains the plot of the play: “It’s basically about a woman who has not left her house for 25 years. No-one has set foot in her house for 20 years. She’s quite happy about that. But then there’s a snow storm and there’s a complete power cut so she starts to realise that her food supply is running low.
“Things are starting to get serious for her then,” he told The Sligo Champion.
It might sound a bit dark, but the play is full of humour too.
“So she’s invented characters in her head and with a crisis looming they stop agreeing with her.”
He has drawn inspiration from his own experiences to write this play.
“I suppose I’ve always been interested in extraordinary characters. I’m from a rural area in Co. Limerick so I have seen it all before.
“I’m at an age now where I’ve seen a lot of change. When I was younger it was all about getting out of the house to play and we loved being outside. But now there’s a different kind of isolation going on.
“People are interacting with people online but not so much outside or getting out and about. Kids are playing on iPads and you see it all the time.
“That’s sort of what happened Janey. She uses the internet and uses online shopping to get all of her food and everything.”
The reaction to ‘Janey Dillis’ has been hugely positive, with audiences around the country enjoying Cora Fenton’s performance.
“The reaction has been great. We’ve got a really positive reaction to the play,” said John.
“We’ve been in the Hawk’s Well before and it’s just a lovely theatre. We always have great fun in Sligo.”
Tickets are €15 and €7.50 for under 18s from the Box Office on 0719161518 or www. hawkswell.com.