VALERIE Dolan of Dolan’s Pub and Warehouse has given the Upstairs venue over to creative types to stimulate theatre’s limp pulse during the Summer. Traditionally a time when amateur (or pro-am) groups filter off due to travel or an audience hell bent on Kilkee, this music impressaria knows that nature abhors a vacuum.
Monday 22 next sees Orchard Theatre Company stage three short plays by Chekhov, 8pm at this Dock Road site. The following Monday 29, her collaboration with Orchard continues, wheeling in Magic Roundabout and freelancers to platform a rehearsed reading; there is no funding for a full production. But let not mere cents dampen our ardour for entertainment: ‘Death of a Character’ sounds like rare craic.
“There’s no actual production company behind our reading of Dermot Petty’s new play, ‘Death of a Character’,” Simon Thompson of Orchard elaborates. “It’s myself and Zeb Moore of Magic Roundabout pulling in others for this, the first public airing of Dermot’s new play.
“‘Death of a Character’ is somewhat of a parody, based around the casting couch of a well known Irish soap. It takes the concept of a soap opera’s established cast and crew and then a new character comes along to be cast from outside – to upset the status quo”.
One actor is dropped, another taken on and this comedy “captures all the bickering and so on that goes on in the dressing room and in the green room. It’s a good laugh.”.
Simon describes himself as a facilitator for the reading and so far, Stefan Barry, Zeb Moore, David Collins, Mel White, Marcus Quade and Darren Maher are pencilled in for Dermot Petty’s latest.
Dolan’s Upstairs is keeping entry down to €5 for this one and all footfall is welcome. Monday July 29, 8pm.
