NEW MOVEMENTS: REBECCA REILLY at Dancehouse, Dublin. 17th January 2014

No Less Than the Trees and the Stars

Choreography Rebecca Reilly
Performers Trevor Furlong, Leoba Petrie, Tonnta Choir, Katherine O' Malley, Philip Connaughton and Fergus Byrne 

Although still a work in progress, this was a spectacular showing of an intense melange of sound design (Trevor Furlong), the cello (Leoba Petrie) and the voice by the members of the Tonnta Choir. Unfortunately the dance did not amount to much. Admittedly, in the context of such talent the choreographer might have felt it'll do but really, isn't a research bursary about raising the bar and living up to the challenge?

I suspect the problem may stem from the multiplication of roles that a choreographer is expected to fulfil these days. Apart from creating the dance narrative itself, choreographers are stage and production designers, accountants and producers, and whatever else that falls their way. I don't pretend to have an answer but I feel that a broader involvement of drama and theatre talent in dance, along the lines of creative collaborations already established with musicians, filmmakers and the like, might not be a bad idea.

ROAD MOVIES

Road Movies

A friend of mine suggested I watch some Irish movies as homework before I say more on the subject. So for anyone interested here goes. My aim is a film maker's analysis rather than a review of any of the films. The difference is like that in all art and wine. Bad may still be worth consuming and give pleasure though in the end you're hardly better off.

Now, this will only make sense to those who have seen the film when I say that “I Went Down" was finally a disappointment. The main character was underplayed throughout, close on boring in fact while his accomplice was actually very funny and kind of grew on you. It's like the director or the writer or whoever could not make up their minds as to who the hero was meant to be . .  It rather reminded me of “Sideways” where for about a third of the film the hero’s travelling companion takes the central spot. It is subtle and you only realise it when you begin to feel more for the secondary character than the hero. Admittedly the film recovers but only with some heavy footed emotional pounding the hero gets from his ex-wife at his friend’s wedding.

The pivotal point in “I Went Down” when the cheerful accomplice saves the hero's life lacked focus. A shame as it was critical to the plot when from unwilling bed fellows they become friends of sorts. The drama was lessened again when the guy they had kidnapped to bring back to the bad boss revealed himself a far more interesting figure than our hero.

All in all, the plot was too complex to follow or care. The shoot-out scene at the end was slow in coming not to mention that the main villain was so unbelievable. He had the lines, he just about had the face but the body language was totally unconvincing. It made you think, this guy is scaring them? Really? Also, the love interest was underdeveloped to make much sense. As a character the ex-girlfriend was a non-entity. It seemed rather like a stab at padding out. At least she could have been a manipulative bitch who wants more than she deserves or gets. It may be unwarranted to put it all down to bad direction but clearly something's gone wrong.

The camera work was often clever without a good reason which is always a no-no. This is where American cinema excels. Never a self conscious shot. The camera is there to serve the storyline. It is a guide to bring us along and show us whatever it is that we are told. That said, it was still far more intelligent than in "The Eclipse" but that is another story

JAMES JOYCE’S DUBLIN. VINTAGE PHOTOS FROM 1897 TO 1904

JAMES JOYCE'S DUBLIN

"Had the real Dublin crumbled . . "? Unfortunately in a very substantial sense the real Dublin has crumbled. Only a short hop to the An Taisce offices or The Georgian Society website will show you the extent of it. Though it is local mess, it continues to shape the nation's image of itself. This is tragic for there are good many people here - remember the thousands that demonstrated against the Wood Quay development? - but the prevailing political ethos is far below this country's best. The peculiar pandering to the lowest common denominator encapsulated so well in the "Sure, it'll do" mentality does no one any favours here.

The Irish who remember the Dublin of the 40ties are few in number and for the most part no longer care. In so many ways Ireland is an extraordinary country but as a community it lacks a sense that it is self governing and that for all it's woes no one else is to blame.

The annihilation of the Irish railway network or the destruction of Georgian Dublin are but two examples of how hell bent this country was on remaking itself. Unfortunately it went about self definition the Taliban way. But cultural identity and a sense of self comes from accepting one's past, from it's ownership, and the built environment is the very fabric in a very concrete form of that shared symbolic order, to use Peter Fuller's phrase.

The pride and spiritual pay off that comes from the care and reconstruction of the past - what the Poles have done in Warsaw for example - is invaluable. The rebuilding of national heritage, much of which was destroyed by acts of ideological vengeance, would help in no small measure to heal the common psyche, the collective unconscious if you will, and allow the Irish to own their past.

On a practical level, this policy would also re-invigorate the craftsmen artisan culture and be a boon to the tourist industry, needles to say. Again, the rebuilding of the Warsaw castle is a case in point.