Programme Notes
Cast
Brian McCarthy - Hamlet
Paul Travers - Claudius
Finbarr Doyle - Stage Manager & Horatio
Roseanne Lynch - Gertrude
with Pat Kinevane - Old Hamlet
Moat Club Ensemble
Paddy Carroll, Clodagh Cummins, Brendan Farrell,
Laura Fenner, Michael McHugh, Aaron O’Connor,
Gerard O’Shea, Eilish Rafferty with Padraig Broe
The Company would also like to that the following club members who shared their memories with us: Pat Breslin, Michael Broe, Padraig Broe, Pat Callaghan, Sarah Gallagher, Stan Hickey, Cathy Lawler, Michael McHugh, Bredha Sexton, Barbara Sheridan, and Conor Sweeney
Creative Team
Adapted and Directed by Lianne O’Shea
Cinematography by Richard Lennon
Lighting Design by Matt Burke
Music Composition and Sound Design by Richard Lennon
Production
Technical Production Manager: Brendan Farrell
Stage Manager: Clodagh Cummins
ASM: Laura Fenner
Construction and Consultant: Tom Kavanagh
Crew: Eoin Lennon
A Darn Skippy Production
Additional costumes from the Moat Club Wardrobe, made by the seamstresses of the club including Wilma O’Keffee and Doreen Ryan.
With thanks to:
Christine Monk, Anthony Hanley, Company SJ,
Once Off Productions, INO, Tom Kavanagh,
Willie O’Brien, Doreen Ryan, Stan Hickey, QLX.
Colleen Werle and Creative Ireland.
Eláine Donnelly, Paula Barrett and
everyone at Kildare Arts Services.
Kathleen, Anita, Aisling, Wabee and Nikki at The Moat Theatre, Naas.
And, in remembrance of Celine Garvey, the previous Moat Theatre manager, who first agreed to this crazy project and offered her unwavering support for this and many other artistic ventures.
Cast Bios
Brian McCarthy
Hamlet
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.
Finbarr Doyle
Stage Manager / Horatio
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).
Paul Travers
Claudius
Paul Travers is a graduate of the Beckett Centre TCD. Highlights have included Romeo and Juliet with Devise and Conquer, Mouth to Mouth with Crookedhouse Theatre Company, Blood Ties with Focus Theatre, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with Sickle Moon Theatre Company, Foreign Bodies and The Passengers with Polish Theatre Ireland.
This is his first show with the amazing
Darn Skippy company.
Roseanne Lynch
Gertrude
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.
Pat Kinevane
Old Hamlet
Pat is a native of Cobh, Co. Cork. He has worked as an actor in theatre, film, television and radio for 33 years. In 2016 Pat won a Laurence Olivier Award in London for his Outstanding Achievement as an Actor and a Writer this year. As a writer he completed his first full length play The Nun’s Wood in 1997 which won a BBC Stewart Parker Trust Award and was produced by Fishamble. Fishamble then produced his second play The Plains of Enna (Dublin Theatre Festival 1999). Pat wrote The Death of Herod for Mysteries 2000 at the SFX. In 2008 his piece Evangeline Elsewhere premiered in New York in the First Irish Festival.
Pat has been touring since 2006 with his four solo pieces Forgotten (Irish Times Theatre Award Nominee) Silent (Scotsman Fringe First, Herald Angel and Brighton Argus Angel Award) Underneath (Scotsman Fringe First and Adelaide Fringe Awards), and Before (Herald Archangel Award winner) all produced by Fishamble.
Pat was a member of The Moat Club before making acting his career. PLAY is his first time working with Darn Skippy Productions.
Creative Team Bios
Lianne O'Shea
Adaptation and Direction
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 & Cinematography
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.
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.
Matt Burke
Lighting Design
Matt Burke is a lighting designer for theatre and dance. Recently he has designed for CoisCéim Dance Theatre’s Go To Blazes, Mufutau Junior Yusuf’s ÒWE (premiered at The Irish Arts Centre NYC), Róisín Whelan Dance Man Down, Ballet Ireland The Glasshouse and Headonbody SOUP. He has worked extensively with The National Irish Language Theatre, An Taibhdhearc, at the Galway International Arts Festival from 2013 to 2018.
In 2019 he graduated with an MFA in Lighting design from The Lir Academy, Trinity College Dublin, and in 2021 he was awarded the Arts Council Agility Award to support his research into lighting technologies and dynamic design.
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.
For more information on other Darn Skippy Productions, please click the button below.