“I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.”
– Oscar Wilde
How long does it take to write a play? To publish it? To cast people to play the characters? To rehearse?….
24 Hour play is a very unique project that was born in New York in 1995. This year was the 4th year the 24 Hour Play was brought to Dublin. For the last three years it has been held in The Abbey Theatre.
The idea is: the day before the event some 20-30 selected actors, playwrights and directors gather to introduce themselves. They all have to bring a prop and a costume. During the introduction each actor talks about a special skill they have as well as something they’ve never done on stage. All these things are meant to inspire future pieces. The next step (and it’s about 11 pm): the playwrights go to write their original pieces. The new plays must be ready and printed off by 7 am next morning. Actors and directors gather again to find out who will be working with whom. Then the rehearsals start. Each piece gets about 20 mins to run a technical rehearsal on stage. About 5 pm (2 and a half hours before the opening) the actors go to learn their lines and then… it’s time to let the audience in and lift up the curtains. All in under 24 hours.
For me the first 24 Hour Play ever was last year. And I thought it was absolutely brilliant. In a way it’s quite honoring to be able to share such a moment with so many talented, creative and ambitious artists. This type of events are one night only. It’s not being recorded in any way. It’s a truly once in a lifetime experience. The audience is mainly actors, artists, theatre makers, friends and family of the actors on stage and just people who have a real passion for good old theatre. I wouldn’t be mistaken if I said that the atmosphere of the night is very homey.
24 Hour Play shall not be mistaken for a standard play. Neither people shall have the same expectations. In a way that’s exactly what’s so wonderful about it. And one can very quickly learn what works, what not. As an example, actors only get few hours to learn their lines… even though they stick to the script, loads become improvisation at the end. But a very high quality improvisation. 24 Hour play requires some really extreme acting. An actor on stage simply must be comfortable with making a fool of oneself and really (really!) enjoy what one is doing. And as one wise man said: “Boring is a theatre where there are actors on stage, not people.”
In addition to all these, The Abbey Theatre also invites a singer to entertain the audience during breaks. This year it was the incredible Jerry Fish. Jerry sang a very beautiful cover of “Story of an Artist” by Daniel Johnson as well as a couple of his own songs.
Now to the plays. There were six of them, each about 15 min long with a small cast of 4-5 actors. Each of the pieces was original and really (and I mean really!) funny and witty. I don’t know if there is one specific topic that writers would like to explore each year, but if there was one … this year it would definitely be homosexuality and relationship. At least 3 of them spoke about it openly and one or two implied it. Absolutely all of them were about relationships.
The first (“Crouching Garda, Hidden Garda”, written by Kate Heffernan and directed by Bairbre Ní Chaoimn) and the last one (“talkdrinklaughkiss” written by Dylan Coburn Gray and directed by Oonagh Murphy) had quite a similar structure. Both had four actors on stage and in both of them the story was being told by two actors, then the other two would try and retell the story but in a different way, with their own words. Funnily enough, in my personal opinion, those two mini-plays were the best ones.
I cannot but also mention “Heritage” (written by Michelle Read and directed by Ronan Phelan). This play in particular had some very bold directing choices. It had a style. it was unique amongst the uniqueness. The way the actors (Clara Harte, Andrea Irvine, Simone Kirby, Aonghus Óg McAnally and Ste Murray) played it out was simply amazing. This play was a perfect example of how not the strongest piece of writing could become something absolutely marvelous simply by the way it was directed and played out.
“Bridget hits the Healing Ceiling” (written by Róise Goan and directed by Gary Keegan) and “Hello, stranger” (written by John Butler and directed by Dan Colley) were probably most memorable by some of its lines. It’ll be long before I forget the sound of … whatever the musical instrument Reeve Carney was holding and his “The vibes, the vibes, the vibes, dude”. As for the “Bridget…”: “…. Do it for the oyster catcher, for the unborn babies, for the English women traveling by ferries.” Caroline Morahan was so unbelievably funny and passionate about what she was doing.
The last one but not least was “Glengorlach” (written by Barbara Bergin and directed by Gerard Stembridge). Eileen Walsh was very authentic with her cape and… no, not a bottle of bleach, but a bottle of true Irish poitín. I absolutely loved the way the scene was played with stage lights. It was brilliant and well thought out. And the Clontarf original Justin Timbermake was outstanding.
Big congratulations and thank you to everyone involved. We, the audience, really did have a ball! I’m so much looking forward to the next year and to this, as I already said, truly once in a lifetime experience!
Unforgettable Lines 