Star of Ros na Rún Takes on Beckett!
Macdara Ó Fátharta, the villainous barman Tadhg Ó Direáin in Ros na Rún, is playing in Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape in the Irish Language at The New Theatre, Dublin, this coming June.
Macdara had a lengthy stage career at The Abbey, as well as appearing in the films Far and Away, The Blackwater Lightship, and the first ever Irish Language feature film Poitín.
This is Macdara’s first Beckett role. Téip Dheireanach Krapp is a new translation of Beckett’s celebrated one man show by world renowned poet and translator Gabriel Rosenstock.
It is directed by Cathal Quinn, Artistic Director of the award winning Mouth on Fire Theatre Company, who has already taken Beckett’s work to India this year, and is just back from its second highly successful trip to Japan.
‘We are delighted to have an actor of Macdara’s calibre performing Beckett for Mouth on Fire’ said Cathal, ‘We always work to the very highest standards with excellent actors; Macdara is our fourth Abbey actor, Peadar Lamb, Geraldine Plunkett and Clive Geraghty have played roles for us in the past, and all through the Irish language’.
It isn’t hard to see why Mouth on Fire Theatre Company is ‘establishing itself as the most respected purveyor of Samuel Beckett's work in Ireland’. In less than four years they have produced superb World, European and Irish Premieres performances of this Irish Nobel Laureate, picking up awards in Russia, while also landing rights to translate his work into the Irish language. They have taken English and Irish versions of Beckett’s work to the UK, Russia, India and Japan, and Irish Ambassador John Neary in Tokyo was so impressed with the performances in Japan over the past two years that he has suggested Mouth on Fire’s visit to Tokyo become an annual event.
Cathal went on: “Our theatre company was established with the aim of making Beckett’s work more accessible to a wider audience. We are always striving to innovate, whilst also being as scrupulously specific as Beckett himself was when he directed his own work.”
“Translating Beckett’s work into Irish – and, by doing so, introducing his plays to new audiences – as well as taking the highest Irish culture abroad, all fits in with our overall ethos as a company. We are building our reputation at home and abroad. Plans are afoot to take Beckett’s plays and poetry to America, Canada and South Korea next year.
“We want people who have never experienced Beckett before to see, hear, enjoy and understand his work. We constantly strive to counter the false assertions which can sometimes be levelled at Beckett’s work, that it is too difficult or too depressing.”
“We have led workshops on Beckett to schoolchildren in Ireland, to hospital patients, to American University students, Beckett academics; all have left enthralled by Beckett’s highly skilled writing and gallows humour.”
The company has received backing from Dublin City Council, Foras na Gaeilge and Culture Ireland has kindly supported the performances abroad.
Performance Dates: June 9th – 14th 2014 @7.30pm (Preview Monday 9th June)
Venue: The New Theatre, 43 East Essex St, Temple Bar, Dublin 2
www.thenewtheatre.com 01 670 33 61
Tickets: €15/€12
