Passionfruit Theatre
Encyclopedia
The Passionfruit Theatre is a theatre
and theatre company based in Athlone, County Westmeath
, Ireland
. It was founded by Irish playwright
and novelist Joe Ducke, Old Vic
graduate Emily Campbell, and lighting designer Emma Lohan. It is the third theatre in Athlone along with the The Dean Crowe Theatre and Arts Centre and The Little Theatre
The company's first production under the Passionfruit moniker was a tour of Joe Ducke's one-act play "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" in 2005. The play centres on three real-life characters: Maud Gonne
, Lady Gregory, and William Butler Yeats
, and how their lives intersect on the evening of December 31, 1899. According to the author, he wrote the play "during the Christmas holidays in 1999 [...] when the New Millennium was just around the corner. The setting is New Year’s Eve 1899, and I used real characters to describe the new feeling of anticipation that always surrounds such crucial dates and occasions.” The production was directed by Mark Shanahan with set and costume design by Emily Campbell. Dermot Ward played Yeats, Anne Hoey played the role of Lady Gregory, and Emily Campbell played Maud Gonne. Anne Hoey won a best actress award for her portrayal of Lady Gregory on the One-Act circuit in 2006.
In 2006 Passionfruit Theatre embarked on three high-profile productions. The first was Walk a Crooked Mile, a three act play by Joe Ducke, which was performed in the Athlone Dean Crowe Theatre in February 2006. The production was directed by Paul Fagan, with set and costume by Emily Campbell and lighting design and operation by Emma Lohan. The cast included Passionfruit regulars Dermot Ward, Anne Hoey and Emily Campbell. The author has described the play as Hamlet
reset and retold in the Irish midlands. In August 2006 Passionfruit toured two one-act plays, Brazen Bulls by Irish playwright Oswald J. Healy, and A Slight Ache
by Harold Pinter
, including dates in the Bak of Ireland Theatre in N.U.I. Galway
, the Bog Lane Theatre in Ballymahon
, and the Teacher's Club Theatre in Dublin. Both plays were directed by Paul Fagan, with set and costume design by Emily Campbell and lighting by Emma Lohan. Brazen Bulls starred Dermot Ward, Stephen Herbert and John Keane, while A Slight Ache starred Eoin O'Connell, Evie Craddock and Dan O'Dowd.
Other productions include:
in New York
.http://www.globalaging.org/elderrights/us/2006/acting.htm
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
and theatre company based in Athlone, County Westmeath
County Westmeath
-Economy:Westmeath has a strong agricultural economy. Initially, development occurred around the major market centres of Mullingar, Moate, and Kinnegad. Athlone developed due to its military significance, and its strategic location on the main Dublin–Galway route across the River Shannon. Mullingar...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. It was founded by Irish playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
and novelist Joe Ducke, Old Vic
Old Vic
The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian...
graduate Emily Campbell, and lighting designer Emma Lohan. It is the third theatre in Athlone along with the The Dean Crowe Theatre and Arts Centre and The Little Theatre
Productions
Since its inception, Passionfruit Theatre has produced shows in Athlone, as well as others which have toured Ireland to some critical acclaim.The company's first production under the Passionfruit moniker was a tour of Joe Ducke's one-act play "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" in 2005. The play centres on three real-life characters: Maud Gonne
Maud Gonne
Maud Gonne MacBride was an English-born Irish revolutionary, feminist and actress, best remembered for her turbulent relationship with William Butler Yeats. Of Anglo-Irish stock and birth, she was won over to Irish nationalism by the plight of evicted people in the Land Wars...
, Lady Gregory, and William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and playwright, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. A pillar of both the Irish and British literary establishments, in his later years he served as an Irish Senator for two terms...
, and how their lives intersect on the evening of December 31, 1899. According to the author, he wrote the play "during the Christmas holidays in 1999 [...] when the New Millennium was just around the corner. The setting is New Year’s Eve 1899, and I used real characters to describe the new feeling of anticipation that always surrounds such crucial dates and occasions.” The production was directed by Mark Shanahan with set and costume design by Emily Campbell. Dermot Ward played Yeats, Anne Hoey played the role of Lady Gregory, and Emily Campbell played Maud Gonne. Anne Hoey won a best actress award for her portrayal of Lady Gregory on the One-Act circuit in 2006.
In 2006 Passionfruit Theatre embarked on three high-profile productions. The first was Walk a Crooked Mile, a three act play by Joe Ducke, which was performed in the Athlone Dean Crowe Theatre in February 2006. The production was directed by Paul Fagan, with set and costume by Emily Campbell and lighting design and operation by Emma Lohan. The cast included Passionfruit regulars Dermot Ward, Anne Hoey and Emily Campbell. The author has described the play as Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
reset and retold in the Irish midlands. In August 2006 Passionfruit toured two one-act plays, Brazen Bulls by Irish playwright Oswald J. Healy, and A Slight Ache
A Slight Ache
A Slight Ache is a tragicomic play written by Harold Pinter in 1958 and first published by Methuen in London in 1961. It concerns a married couple's dreams and desires, focusing mostly on the husband's fears of the unknown, of growing old, and of the "Other" as a threat to his...
by Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
, including dates in the Bak of Ireland Theatre in N.U.I. Galway
Galway
Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...
, the Bog Lane Theatre in Ballymahon
Ballymahon
Ballymahon on the River Inny is a town in the southern part of County Longford, Ireland. It is located at the junction of the N55 National secondary road and the R392 regional road. Ballymahon derives its name from Gaelic Baile Mathuna Town of Mahon...
, and the Teacher's Club Theatre in Dublin. Both plays were directed by Paul Fagan, with set and costume design by Emily Campbell and lighting by Emma Lohan. Brazen Bulls starred Dermot Ward, Stephen Herbert and John Keane, while A Slight Ache starred Eoin O'Connell, Evie Craddock and Dan O'Dowd.
Other productions include:
- "With Wandering Steps and Slow" by Oswald J. Healy (2007)
- Directed by Paul Fagan
- "The Pot of Broth" by William Butler YeatsWilliam Butler YeatsWilliam Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and playwright, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. A pillar of both the Irish and British literary establishments, in his later years he served as an Irish Senator for two terms...
(2008)- Directed by Luke Hayden
- 5 Dec 2007 ... One Of Us by Joseph Ducke (Passionfruit Theatre Company,
- Dir: Suzanne Hogan): played Marcus Goodbody Dean Crowe Theatre, Athlone ...
Refurbishment
In August 2007 Passionfruit Theatre was approved for a governmental grant towards the refurbishment of its theatre at Northgate St., Athlone, with its planned grand opening in October 2007. The newly refurbished theatre has been designed by Budd Holden, student of the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film InstituteLee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute
__notoc__The Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute is an acting school located at 115 East 15th Street between Union Square East and Irving Place in the Union Square neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, as well as at 7936 Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, California...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.http://www.globalaging.org/elderrights/us/2006/acting.htm