15 March 2010

Broken Croí/Heart Briste -- An Dráma


So I went and saw Broken Croi/Heart Briste at the Project Arts Centre here in Dublin tonight, and I’ve got to say that I really loved it. Now, interwebs, I’m not a fan of Post Modernist Theatre. I’ve tried to like it, and I usually just can’t grasp my head around the more conceptualist styles of theatre, but Broken Croi/Heart Briste was seriously good, in my opinion.

There is minor audience participation, and it even starts with an actor talking to you as you take your seats. And basically, in essence, it was a show about the divide in language and the struggle of communication for two people. It’s written in Irish with English subtitles, and I still didn’t have a problem understanding anything, because the emotions were there in the writing. So, two thumbs up, interwebs. I think that Manchán Magan did a great job as writer and actor.
A blurb from Magan’s website -- “A self-loathing dancer and a fanatical Gaeilgeoir seek to connect in a language lesson that swerves from slapstick to acrimony to personal revelation. It’s a comedic and heartfelt look at fractured relationships, using a blend of Irish and English to reveal the warped truth behind our passions. Manchán Magan is the kilt-clad pedagogue vying with his mutinous teenage side-kick Eva O’Connor, both using language in a way that makes it understandable and relevant to all. Is it in Irish? Can language be a weapon? Who the feic knows?
After the show we sat down and had a chat with Magan, and I thought it was just an overall pleasant experience ... Magan on the Irish going to the theatre: “You’ve all been to the Abbey. (Looks directly at me, YES, me) I know I’ve seen you there.”
- E

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