Programme Notes
Cast
Finbarr Doyle
Roseanne Lynch
Brian McCarthy
Creative Team
Written by Gerard O'Shea
Directed by Lianne O’Shea
Music Composition and Sound Design by Richard Lennon
Production Design by Lianne O'Shea
Tech Operation by Connor O'Connell
Supported by
The County Kildare Decade of Commemorations Committee
& The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport & Media
under The Decade of Centenaries Initiative 2012-2023
A Darn Skippy Production
With thanks to:
Celine, Kathleen, Anita, Aisling, Chloe and Conor at the Moat Theatre, Naas;
The Moat Club; Wabee and Niki in the Moat Theatre Café;
& Kevin Murphy and The Decade of Commemorations Committee.
Author's Note
The Kildare Decade of Commemorations initiative has done a great job of marking the events of the period 2012-2023 and I am proud that this play ‘Enemy of the Republic’ forms part of the work it has supported.
There has been so much written about the Civil War – particularly as we’ve marked its centenary in recent years. Who was on the pro- and anti-treaty sides, the reasons for taking those positions, the military campaigns and battles, the well-known historical figures that lost their lives. These things have been covered with good reason – it was a seismic event in the formation of the Ireland we live in, and caused divisions that lasted lifetimes and beyond.
What interested me more in writing this play was the effect that the Civil War had – especially after a decade that had caused so much disruption – on ordinary people. People who, whether they had a view on the treaty or not, whether they cared about politics or not, just wanted to get on with living their lives.
The role of poets and playwrights in creating – and telling their stories of – the Ireland that came into being, has been something that has clearly fascinated me for some time. Like so many other walks of life, their work was severely disrupted throughout this period.
The characters of Malachy Sweeney and Lily Flynn in this play were characters I had created before, for a previous alternate history comedy, ‘Easter 1917’ which was staged by the Moat Club in 2012, and revisiting where they might be at six years later was an exciting prospect.
‘Enemy of the Republic’ takes as a starting point two key events that took place in the year 1923. The Amusements Order was issued by the anti-treaty IRA in March 1923, and attempted to close all public entertainments. The text used in the play is the actual text of the Order. In November 1923, William Butler Yeats was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for his work with the Gaelic Literary Revival. The script uses excerpts from the actual speech delivered in support of Yeats’ win. For dramatic purposes, the timing of the two have been moved closer together in this play.
I hope you enjoy the play,
Gerard O'Shea
Cast Bios
Finbarr Doyle
Finbarr is an award-winning actor/writer from Dublin.
Credits include: One Moment Now, You're Still Here & Will I See You There (Murmuration/ co-writer), All Honey (Project Arts), TRYST (Lyric Belfast, Project Arts - also co-writer), Summertime (Dublin Fringe '18, Best Duo Nominee), Birdy (Peacock, Winner - Best Ensemble at Dublin Fringe Awards), The Rivals (Smock Alley).
Roseanne Lynch
Roseanne is an actor, writer and Co-Artistic Director of Darn Skippy Productions. She trained at Drama Centre London and the Samuel Beckett Centre, TCD. Her acting work includes roles with the National Theatre of Scotland, Ibsen Stage Company, RIFT, Helium Arts and Sunday's Child. In 2021 she received an Arts Council Project Award to develop her new play, Waterbirth. This play has also been supported by an Open Stage Residency (Dunamaise Arts Centre) and a Creative Ireland Bursary (Kildare Arts Office). Her first play Zandra, Queen of Jazz, based on the extraordinary true story of Ireland’s first female saxophonist, premiered at Smock Alley Theatre in 2019, completely sold out and received excellent reviews from both critics and audiences. The show returned as part of the Herstory Light Festival in 2020, and has toured to various other venues since.
Brian McCarthy
Brian is a Dublin/UK-based Cork actor, graduating from the Programme for Screen Acting at Bow Street Academy in 2021, under the tutelage of Gerry Grennell, Shimmy Marcus and Cathy Brady. He currently appears in the feature film A Passing Place as TOM premiering at the 35th Galway Film Fleadh, currently on its festival run. He also appears in his directorial/screenwriting debut short film; The Burning at Ballymanny, also on its festival run.
In theatre, Brian appeared as HAMLET in THIS HOUSE IS ELSINORE by Lianne O’Shea and supported by The Arts Council in 2022. Select credits include; BENEDICK in Much Ado About Nothing, YOSSI in What's Left of the Flag, HB in A Day In The Life Of A Pencil.
He also holds the record for most consecutive Best Performer awards at the Drama League of Ireland’s All-Ireland One-Act Drama Festival, and was also nominated for a third time.
Brian is also a writer and filmmaker producing the short film After The Bell Rings earlier this year as 1/3 of filmmaking trio BYMINUTE PRODUCTIONS.
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Creative Team Bios
Gerard O'Shea
Playwrite
'Enemy of the Republic' is Gerard's first time working with Darn Skippy. Previous writing credits include 'Skulduggery' (devise+conquer, Bewleys Cafe Theatre), 'Thicker than Blood' (Wooden O, Scene + Heard), 'Once A Year' (Short & Sweet Festival Dublin), 'Easter 1917' and 'Revolver' (both Moat Club Naas).
He is also an actor, most recently appearing in the Moat Club's 'The Night Alive' and won the All-Ireland Best Supporting Actor award in 2019 for his role in 'An Enemy of the People' (Prosperous Dramatic Society)
Lianne O'Shea
Director
Lianne is a director and theatre practitioner. She holds a Master’s Degree in Directing for Theatre from UCD where her research focused on collaborative rehearsal systems and Shakespeare. Her particular focus is on Viewpoints and exploring how an improvised and changing performance score can interface with text-based work and technical design elements such as lighting.
Her most recent directing work is an intimate site-responsive exploration of Hamlet – in 2022 she presented one strand of the project: This House is Elsinore, she is currently working on a new strand – PLAY. Other directing work includes Foreign Bodies (Project Arts Centre) and Delta Phase (Theatre Upstairs) both for Polish Theatre Ireland, Skullduggery (Bewley’s Café Theatre) Romeo + Juliet and The Merchant of Venice (The Complex).
She has worked as a production manager on national and international tours, as a stage manager with the Abbey Theatre, Dublin and also has a background in design and lighting design. Previous work with Darn Skippy includes costume designer and executive producer for Swan, Unmuted and costume and lighting designer for Zandra, Queen of Jazz.
With an interest in training and development, Lianne has created and delivered a very successful Directors’ Mentoring Programme for amateur directors in The Moat Theatre, Naas.
Richard Lennon
Music & Sound Design
Richard is an award-winning Filmmaker (Director / Cinematographer / Writer / Producer / Editor), Musician (Composer / Performer / Producer), Actor, University Teacher, and Co-Artistic Director of Darn Skippy Productions, with a career spanning decades and continents. From 2009 until 2016 Richard taught filmmaking at New York University at Tisch School of the Arts (Dublin, Ireland and New York) and NYU Abu Dhabi. Prior to his service at NYU, his studies included film theory and production as well as music education and performance at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. Richard has been a union actor (SAG And AFTRA) since age three. His resume includes award-winning films (feature, documentary, short & music video), gallery installation films, music videos, session and stage musician credits, as well as a Grammy Award for scholastic group performance.
Richard currently teaches Acting For Camera and Behind the Lens courses at the Gaiety School of Acting, Dublin.
Recently, Richard has been awarded grants from The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media; Kildare County Council; and Kildare's Short Grass Film Bursary for new work
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Also, Richard took home the Best Music Video Award at the 2022 Dublin International Short Film and Music Festival for his music film for Christian Wethered's song "La Madeleine." The video is also an Official Selection at the Prague Music Video Awards and the Disappear Here Film Festival in Ballyliffin, Co. Donegal.
Richard was just honored with a nomination for BEST SCORE at the 2023 Dublin International Short Film and Music Festival for his music score for the short film The Burning at Ballymanny.
Supported by
About
Darn Skippy Productions is anaward-winning multidisciplinary company: filmmaker/musician Richard Lennon and theatre artist Roseanne Lynch, along with theatre director/practitioner Lianne O'Shea. Together we tell stories through film, theatre and music.
A big part of our purpose as a company is contained within our name. “Darn Skippy” is a phrase that means, not just “yes”, but “YES!!!” We want to create work that is vivid, bold and bursting with life - work that says, not just “yes”, but “YES!!!” to all the joy, agony and infinite possibility of being human.
The unique alchemy of our combined skills and experience means that our work often draws on a mixture of art-forms - whether it’s theatre with original music; a very theatrical music video; or audio drama with a musical undercurrent. We enjoy finding new ways to bring our creative worlds together.
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