Imagine: The First Day

Day One Roundup

Pop Up Exhib. St Olaf's Hall photo Paul Dower

Art to Art: The arts fest proceedings set off gently with a pop up art exhibition at St Olaf's Hall from a group of lady artists. We like any event that starts with a glass of bubbly and nibbles. The task of quick and easy displaying of work by the seven lady artists was solved by erecting a few temporary railings in the lofty space with a wonderful stained glass window. We liked Lisa Byrne's Collection of Perspectives, a set of portraits of heads reminiscent of Louis le Brocquy.





Later at Greyfriars Gallery, there was a buzz of anticipation in to a packed municipal gallery  for the opening of a Patrick Morrison Retrospective, the headline exhibition of the Visual Art strand of the festival.

Anja Poche Lipfert

Over at City Hall, Camerata Kilkenny presented a smashing evening of baroque music by JS Bach. with guest soprano German soprano Anja Poche Lipfert and flautist Rachel Beckett. You can read the Irish Examiner review here    Great to see a good house in for this concert in the Waterford Music series. And in keeping with the festive spirit, there were canapés at the interval. Next event features the Con Tempo with accordionist Dermot Dunne on 30th October.

We caught the end of the world music double bill at Garter Lane. There was an alpine flavour to
Claudia Schwab's yodeling vocals melded with Eastern drones, quite a head swaying  fusion .  A Muriel Anderson and her surreal looking harp guitar joined Claudia and trio for a final waltz.

The Hard Ground 

All the way from Cork, The Hard Ground a five piece band from Cork provided the edgiest vibe of the day. Pat Carey had an impressive presence as front man and we loved the mellow duets with keyboard player Marlene Enright.  The bijou proportions of the Hall combined with the front row sofas (get in early to nab one)  made this experience pleasantly intense,  like watching late night Jools from the comfort of your living room on a very large screen. Close enough to engage in a little banter with the band if so inclined.  Next gigs at the venue  include Katakana and punk poet, Jinx Lennon. Full details here www.centralarts.ie

The Imagine Arts Festival continues until 26th October . Details here www.imagineartsfestival.com.

Not A Game For Boys -Phoenix and Red Kettle at Central Hall Waterford

The  great unwritten rule in sport is  'what happens in the dressing room stays in the dressing room'. Those fine people at Red Kettle have teamed up with the new Phoenix Productions to deliver the Simon Block play, NOT A GAME FOR BOYS and it breaks that rule. And that rarest of props the support jockstrap features.

The play is a comedy drama based in London. It's a three-hander and is set in the dressing room of a table tennis match. The characters are a group of taxi drivers, members of a team, who compete in the local leagues. We observe an evening when a crucial relegation battle is about to commence in the Premier league. There's a nice nod to Waterford audience as the team is called the London Deise Cabs.

It's a very funny work as the characters interact as alternative  duos whilst the 3rd member competes. There's plenty of dressing room male banter as they prepare for the game.

 Kieran Doyle gave a masterclass as Eric the heart of the team who is obsessed with maintaining his team's status whilst juggling domestic issues with his wife and mother at home. He brought a great intensity to the role and his comic timing was excellent. Trevor Somers as Oscar was the  mysterious one of the trio, Stephen Forristal fresh from a backseat  romantic joust with 'a fare up the Aldwych' is further bothered by a demanding partner from home. The cast has a fine body of theatrical experience and it shows.

Do not miss a great night out at Not A Game For Boys with Kieran Doyle in smashing form in a glorious laughter Fest up Andy Jordan's Lane.
— LIAM MURPHY (@liammunster) April 3, 2014

Ben Hennessey directs  and does a fine job balancing the comedy and drama. The sound featured music from the mid 90's. I felt some off-screen sound from the competitive tables might have enhanced the atmosphere.

Great to see the Central Hall used again for live theatre and supporting Phoenix. The chance to carry a beverage from Jordan's is another draw.

Not just for boys, this is a  very funny play with  good acting. Recommended.

The play runs till 12th April.


By John Hartery

Xmas Shorts: A Night of New Plays in Waterford

Just in from an interesting and entertaining evening of new theatrical writing . Titled Xmas Shorts, Trapdoor Theatre Company in association with Red Kettle TC presented five short plays by writers, Anna Jordan, Tom O Brien, Patrick Kelly and Dayna Killian.  at Central Hall Waterford. There was a relaxed collegial atmosphere in the small theatre with an audience of local thespians and friends in. Set design was simple but effective and a different projected image introduced prefaced each piece and acted as a backdrop for several.   I particularly liked the impressionist pub secene image for the Brendan Behan Standup, in which Damien McDonnell brought the curmudgeonly spirit of the playwright to life on stage through a text by Tom O Brien. The device of a penitential confessional scene was used to good effect here  and also in Dangers of Ignorance. Brian Coady had the audience in stitches in this comedy monologue by Anna Jordan. The evening     opened and closed with an ensemble piece. Emma was a dark Medea like tale featuring a real life mother and daughter. Isobel and Dayna Killian in the cast and the finale featured a set of siblings in contemplative mood as they packed up their childhood home.  Making up the set  was a two hander ghost story Marianne There was a resonating plot device with these two dramas also in the dramatic placing of a watch for characters  beyond the grave .
  With revivals and classics being the staple fare of the big professional companies, new writing has become the preserve of smaller companies and the am-dram scene and it was great to hear so much good writing delivered in a Waterford accent.

Quibbles . It is hard to read programme notes that are both in CAPITALS and in BOLD. I couldn't find any information on the event on line either on the Red Kettle Theatre Company website  or Trapdoors Blogspot. Surely the event merited a paragraph or two on the company website.

Xmas Shorts continues nightly at 8pm at the Central Hall, The Quay, Waterford

Emma Written and directed by Dayna Killian  Cast Ben Quinlan, Grainne Kavanagh Isabel Killian, Margaret Ryan and Dayna
Marianne by Patrick Kelly Director Clare Smith Cast Conor Halpin Jr Garreth Drohan 
Dangers of Ignorance by Anna Jordan director Shauna Farrell starring Brian Coady
Brendan Behan Standup by Tom O Brien  Director Robert Doherty Starring Damien McDonnell
Carpe Diem by Anna Jordan director Shauna Farrell Cast Kieran Doyle, Anita O Keeffe, Dean Sullicvan, Ciara Dower, and Jacqui Kelleher