Louise O'Neill among writers pushing the boundaries of theatre at Cork Midsummer Festival

Irish Examiner

a day ago

She may have made her name as an author but it turns out that Louise O'Neill's true love is the theatre. When I chat to O'Neill, she is in London, where she has seen two plays in quick succession — Conor McPherson's new play The Brightening Air and the buzzy Broadway transfer Stereophonic by David Adjmi.
"I just adore the theatre. Wherever I am, I'm always like 'what play can I go and see?'. There is something about being in a dark room with a few hundred other people and you have all signed this covenant that you are going to suspend disbelief for the next couple of hours.'
So, when the opportunity arose to write her own play, O'Neill jumped at the chance. It was an offer with an attractive twist — to contribute a piece to Theatre for One, a very different prospect to the usual theatrical experience.
A highlight of the Cork Midsummer Festival, Theatre for One presents a selection of five-minute pieces performed by a lone actor to an audience of one in a confessional-style booth.
The unusual format has proved a big hit with audiences in its previous two iterations, and this year, the theme of Made in Cork adds some extra hometown flavour. Clonakilty native O'Neill is one of six Cork writers featuring, along with Cónal Creedon, Katie Holly, John McCarthy, Michael John McCarthy and Gina Moxley.
'It is really pushing the boundaries of what theatre can be and it is just really exciting to be part of that,' says O'Neill.
"I had seen previous plays by Marina Carr, Mark O'Rowe, Louise Lowe, and Enda Walsh and it felt so intimate and spellbinding. Theatre is so much about the connection between the actor and the audience. Every night feels different, the energy, the dynamic, because of a new audience and how people respond to the material. There is something so fascinating about boiling that down to two people in one space.'
O'Neill may have proven her own talent in a different literary field, but this isn't her first theatrical outing. Her second novel Asking For It, dealing with the aftermath of a sexual assault in a small Irish town, became a phenomenon, and was later adapted for the stage, premiering at the Cork Midsummer Festival in 2018.
However, long before that, she trod the boards herself, as a member of Kilmeen Drama Group, in their award-winning production of The Playboy of the Western World, which went on to be performed at the Abbey Theatre in 2013.
'Kilmeen was my local drama group and they were just such a wonderful source of inspiration. My mother would take me and my sister to the All-Ireland Drama Festival every year and we would see a different play every night.
Lauren Coe as Emma and Paul Mescal as Bryan in Landmark Productions and the Everyman world premiere production of Asking for It by Louise O'Neill. Picture: Hugh O'Conor.
"The level of expertise that those people have in writing, acting, staging, sets and lighting, is really quite extraordinary. Being exposed to that from a young age gave me such a love for theatre, and an appreciation and understanding of it that as an adult I feel immensely grateful for.'
The surprise factor means O'Neill can't reveal too much about her Theatre for One piece, apart from the fact that it perhaps signals a change in focus inspired by her own stage in life.
'The protagonist of the piece is a woman in her 50s. There is probably an expectation that it would centre on a teenager but I have just turned 40 and I have friends in their 50s and 60s — I do think the interior lives of women of that age are quite fascinating, that shedding of old identities.'
There is a pleasing symmetry in O'Neill's involvement in Theatre for One — it is staged by Landmark Productions, founded by Cork woman Anne Clarke, which also brought Asking For It to the Everyman Theatre in 2018. Julie Kelleher, who was artistic director of the venue at that time, is now directing O'Neill's piece and also helped her rein in her novelistic tendencies.
'I'm very used to having a lot of time and space to expand on my ideas. I handed in a first draft which was about 3,000 words. I asked Julie was she sure that my piece couldn't be longer than everyone else's and she was like, 'no',' laughs O'Neill.
'It was a really interesting creative experience, trying to see where I could trim off any excess material and hone it as much as I could.'
Another play which O'Neill says she enjoyed recently was A Streetcar Named Desire, starring Paul Mescal as Stanley Kowalski. In another harmonious turn, one of the now world-famous actor's first roles was in Asking For It, playing the brother of the main character. O'Neill uses an apposite comparison when she describes how she felt seeing Mescal acting in Asking For It.
'It was akin to Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire when he comes on screen and there is an incredibly naturalistic, raw energy about him. Paul has a lot of that, you could see there was something special about him. The cast of Asking For It as a whole were absolutely outstanding, as a writer to see your words being brought to life in the mouths of such talent was such a privilege.'
O'Neill is busier than ever, and completed her Theatre for One piece while also working on not one, but two books, a novel and an eagerly anticipated memoir, which will be out next year. She won't rule out writing a full-length play at some point.
'With me, it is always about trying to find the time because I always seem to have another project. You never know, I would love to.'
Theatre for One, presented by Landmark Productions and Octopus Theatricals, Jun 14, 15, 17-22, free of charge. See corkmidsummer.com for times.
More theatrical treats at Cork Midsummer Festival
Escaped Alone , The Everyman Theatre, Jun 12 -14.
, The Everyman Theatre, Jun 12 -14. Caryl Churchill's satirical play celebrates the voices of older women, showcasing the talents of a superb cast.
Stitch , J Nolan Stationary, 21 Shandon St, Jun 13-22.
, J Nolan Stationary, 21 Shandon St, Jun 13-22. Making ingenious use of a shop premises, this production starring the prodigious Irene Kelleher exemplifies the Midsummer mission to use the city as a stage.
The Black Wolfe Tone , Cork Arts Theatre, Jun 20-21
, Cork Arts Theatre, Jun 20-21 Written and performed by Kwaku Fortune, this thought-provoking production is a powerful meditation on identity and what it means to be Irish.
The Second Woman , Cork Opera House, 24 hours from 4pm, Jun 14- to 4pm, Jun 15 (entry slots available at different times)
, Cork Opera House, 24 hours from 4pm, Jun 14- to 4pm, Jun 15 (entry slots available at different times) A bold and ambitious production in which Cork actor Eileen Walsh will perform with an unrehearsed cast of 100 over 24 hours at Cork Opera House.
Bottlenose: A Mystery for Modern Ireland , Granary Theatre, Jun 19-22
, Granary Theatre, Jun 19-22 A comic dive into the demise of the beloved Fungie, late of Dingle Bay.
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