New play Chicane in the Belltable this week

A BLACKLY comic thriller, where the audience should “expect the unexpected”, is how Guna Nua Theatre Company’s Chicane is described, boasting a top notch cast and direction by Limerick man Paul Meade, a renowned actor in his own right.
Written by first time playwright Anthony Brophy and featuring Barry Barnes, Emmet Kirwan - of RTE’s Sarah and Steve - and highly promising up and coming actress Jane McGrath, this is definitely not one to miss.
Steeped in film noir and effectively a cinematic thriller on your local stage, Chicane is packed with suspense, violence and deceit and receives its world premiere on Limerick’s Belltable stage, a considerable coup for the venue.
“It is a thriller, set in a lawyer's office in contemporary Dublin and basically what people can expect is the unexpected,” laughs Paul Meade, founder of Guna Nua, whom local audiences may remember brought the superb ‘Little Gem’ to the Belltable in recent times.
“The name Chicane refers to something in the story, but it also refers to all the twists and turns in the play and it brings you around a different corner every ten pages or so. The play is like a revenge play, but your perception of what is happening is constantly being subverted. It is set in one office, there are three characters and it is really intense, but very funny at times - it is playful in the sense that it is constantly changing in that you don't know what is going to come next.”
He adds with a smile: “There are a lot of film noir overtones. If you like thrillers or black comedy, you will love this”.
The three-hander is a suspenseful whodunit, but is ultimately a story of love and loyalty. Happily, it provides the Dublin based Meade - whose performance in the Georgian House located Buck Jones and the Bodysnatchers lingers long in the memory - with a chance to return to his home city.
“It is great to be back in Limerick and it is always great to be in the Belltable - they have been very supportive of Guna Nua for the last number of years with Little Gem and this,” he says effusively.
Chicane runs in the Belltable @ 36 Cecil Street until Saturday, October 2.

Revenger's Tragedy in the Belltable

FANCY some blood and lust with a healthy dash of murder? No it’s not Quentin Tarantino, but you’re not far off.
Continuing this week in the Belltable is the Bottom Dog produced play, the Revenger’s Tragedy, the fourth play produced by the Limerick Theatre Hub.
Adapted from Thomas Middleton’s Jacobean classic text by local playwright Mike Finn, directed by Myles Breen and starring former Emmerdale actor Liam O’Brien, this piece is dripping with murder, a tragic comedy you can really get your teeth into.
The play deals with the return of ‘Vinnie’, hell bent on avenging the death of his girlfriend at the hands of the notorious Duke - played by Killinaskully’s Pascal Scott - and if it sounds like a Guy Ritchie movie, mixed with Shakespeare and moulded by Martin McDonagh, you are probably on the right track.
“I was attracted to the play originally because I just loved the title and when I read it I decided it would be fun to do an adaptation of it,” says Mike Finn.
“It is a good old fashioned play, a Jacobean revenge tragedy, and it is full of blood, lust, incest, murder - so I thought it would be interesting to do a modern take on it, because unfortunately those things are very close to us.
“One of the things we discovered about it as we went along is that it is a tragedy as the title would suggest, but we have realised that it is hilarious, sort of a black comedy. There are some real elements of farce - it is quite black, almost like a bedroom farce but with knives. It is quite mad.”
The cast is also made up of superb actress Gene Rooney, Aidan Crowe, Dorothy Cotter and Pat Ryan, with an original - and dark - score, written by Giveamanakick’s Steve Ryan.
The setting promises to be superb, utilising the versatile space of Red Cross Hall, and this play is ambitious in its scope - a fact not lost on Finn.
“It is big and ambitious and is the biggest one in terms of scale of the four, so if it fails it will be spectacular, but I would like to think the audience will come out and even if they don't think it is the greatest play in the world, they will know they have been spoken to.”
The Revenger’s Tragedy runs in the Belltable until November 24. For bookings contact 061-319866.

"Don Juan In Hell" opens in the Belltable

I ATTENDED the opening night of the latest Limerick Theatre Hub venture last night, Don Juan In Hell, by GB Shaw and directed by Killaloe man Duncan Molly.
The piece boasts both superb staging and performances - particularly Limerick man Darragh Bradshaw's impressive (statuesque?) puppetry performance.
There is some serious, meaty subject matter in here, but a delightful witty strand permeates the philosophical debate that takes place, primarily between Don Juan and the Devil.
It would be superb if local audiences came out and supported this play, which runs in the Belltable until October 24.
See preview article below.

LIMERICK THEATRE audiences will be transported to “hell and back again” this week as the entertaining and much anticipated ‘Don Juan In Hell’ opens in the Belltable on Wednesday night.

The piece, the latest in the Limerick Theatre Hub venture, deals with infamous literary character Don Juan and his travails in hell - and is based on the play written by famous Irish author George Bernard Shaw.

It promises to be a hilarious and visually arresting piece, given the ambitious set design and puppetry, created by Limerick man Darragh Bradshaw.

Killaloe man Duncan Molloy directs a cracking cast of actors including Martin McGuire - well-known from his work on The Tudors and The Clinic - as well as Fair City regulars Nathan Gordon and Eilish O’Donnell.

“What we are trying to do is not have it as a classical, ‘ye-olde’ play and instead try and look at it from a different point of view,” explained Duncan.

“It is not strictly an adaptation because we are not drastically changing the setting of it or anything, we are just trying to play around with it and have a bit of fun with it,” he added.

The premise of the story is that Don Juan has been dragged to hell by the his former lover’s father, who he killed in a duel.

When she in turn dies after a long and happy life, she awakens to the appalling realisation that she is also in hell, with Don Juan, who is by now great friends with her father, who likes to pop down occasionally from heaven. If it sounds like a romp, that is what Duncan had in mind.

“The idea is that if we all could do whatever we want it would be grand, but what's the point? If we are not going to get punished for doing bad, then why do good at all? It goes from there,” laughed Duncan.
“The main thing is, it is a bit of a laugh - Shaw is very, very funny, whether you read him on a page or aloud. So we are just trying to bring that out, have a few gags and a bit of a laugh on stage,” said Duncan.

Don Juan In Hell opens in the Belltable @ 36 Cecil Street this Wednesday at 8pm. It runs until October 24 and tickets are available on 061-319866.