BY DEIRDRE KINAHAN
DIRECTED BY LOUISE LOWE
STARRING MARIE MULLEN
AND BRIAN GLEESON WORLD PREMIERE
BY DEIRDRE KINAHAN
DIRECTOR LOUISE LOWE
COMPOSER CONOR MITCHELL
COSTUME DESIGNER JOAN O’CLERY
LIGHTING DESIGNER MARY TUMELTY
SOUND DESIGNER CAMERON MACAULAY
BROADCAST LIVE FROM THE EVERYMAN THEATRE AS PART OF CORK MIDSUMMER FESTIVAL
SATURDAY 19 JUNE 2021, 3PM AND 8PM SUNDAY 20 JUNE 2021, 8PM
ON DEMAND 21–27 JUNE
Marie Mullen in rehearsal. Photo: Barry Cronin 2 3 CONTENTS LANDMARK PRODUCTIONS
Landmark Productions is one of work – plays, operas and musicals Ireland’s leading theatre producers. – in theatres ranging from the 66- It produces wide-ranging work in seat New Theatre to the 1,254- PAGE 5 LANDMARK PRODUCTIONS Ireland, and shares that work with seat Olympia. It co-produces international audiences. regularly with a number of partners, including, most significantly, Galway PAGE 6 THE SACRED TRUTH In January 2021 it launched Landmark International Arts Festival and Live, a new online streaming platform Irish National Opera. Its 21 world OF MÁIRE SULLIVAN to enable the company to bring the premieres include new plays by major thrill of live theatre to audiences Irish writers such as Enda Walsh and around the world. Mark O’Rowe, featuring a roll-call of PAGE 9 CAST / CREATIVES Ireland’s finest actors, directors and Deirdre Kinahan’s The Saviour is the designers. fourth production to be streamed to PAGE 26 LANDMARK LIVE date. In August, Landmark, in a co- Numerous awards include the production with Galway International Judges’ Special Award at The Irish Arts Festival, will present the world Times Irish Theatre Awards, in premiere of a new play by Enda Walsh, recognition of ‘sustained excellence PAGE 28 THANK YOUS / FUNDING Medicine, as part of the Edinburgh in programming and for developing International Festival. Walsh will imaginative partnerships to bring direct Clare Barrett, Aoife Duffin, and quality theatre to the Irish and PAGE 29 JOIN THE CONVERSATION Domhnall Gleeson, with drummer international stage’; and a Special Sean Carpio, in a devastatingly funny Tribute Award for Anne Clarke, for her and moving meditation on how, for work as ‘a producer of world-class many decades, we have treated those theatre in the independent sector in we call mentally ill. Ireland’.
Led by Anne Clarke since the www.landmarkproductions.ie company’s foundation in 2003, Landmark’s productions have Join the Landmark Mailing list received multiple awards and have HERE to find out more about been seen in leading theatres in upcoming shows. London, New York and beyond. It produces a wide range of ambitious
4 5 THE SACRED TRUTH Truth with a capital T is spoken, only Mother, Deirdre Kinahan’s edition is a unravelling can follow. Her creatures terrifying manifestation. OF MÁIRE SULLIVAN are locked in patterns of control that make truthful utterance a threat to Underlying the show’s sparking BY PAULA MEEHAN carefully-wrought consensus. energy is the most serious consideration, even accusation, That we can laugh our heads off that as a State we have reneged IF THERE WAS a Venn diagram for as we witness disintegration and on our commitment to protect our this play we might see transgression is because one of the children in the past and that, for all Crazy-Old-Long-Widowed-Religious- many arrows in Deirdre Kinahan’s the commissions and reports and Maniac-Talking-Out-Loud-To-Jesus- capacious quiver is her sense of investigations, we are still failing After-Getting-Her-Hole humour. Gallows humour to be sure: them. Dig a bit deeper and this overlapping with Massive-Cultural- deadly. play urges a complete separation And-Constitutional-Change-On- of Church and State. The price of The-Island-In-The-Last-Decade The old chestnuts are here: How can Theocracy has been horrendous; overlapping with a God of Love allow such suffering? living hells in the Magdalen Laundries Family-Traumatised-Through-The- What do we make of Máire’s direct (evoked here with accurate terror), Generations-Karma. conversation with Him? What kind of the social torture of citizens who are Prayer is this? Máire imagines Jesus different, the tyranny of the family That we come to love Máire up in the mountains of Tibet where become ‘enforcer’ of a dysfunctional Sullivan by the end of the show the white mountaintops touch the and unholy alliance of said Church is a testimony to the playwright’s clouds where you can just sit yourself and State. dark and mysterious art, an art that down and have a breather and not alchemicalises evil, and shows us be being bothered by World Wars or The historical roots of that alliance the human heart as a wilderness, Mass Murders or Screaming Auld- go back to the power vacuum left a zone beyond manmade (gender Ones having sex. when the British pulled out, the first intended!) laws. minor chord in the swan song of There is a merciful refusal to sanitize empire, into which vacuum stepped We can empathise with her fall from or glorify victimhood: Máire Sullivan’s the Catholic Church, whose absolute grace. We witness the corruption of baggage is packed with enough authority became unquestioned her already trammelled innocence, incidents to derail any human authority and led to inevitability of the havoc her unexamined actions being, and it is our identification systemic abuse. The internalising of have unleashed, the horrendous with her suffering that engenders all that oppression, of the shame and consequences of her gullibility - all compassion. In a theatre tradition trauma, has meant the reverberations this a tribute to a playwright whose that does a great line in the of that shift in power and its abuse gift is for capturing the transgressive Monstrous Irish Mother, even the continue to sound through the moment. In Kinahan’s world, when Religious Maniacal Monstrous Irish generations. To find language for this 6 7 – the Great Amnesia also known as by her derangement, as the truth is the Great Silence – has largely fallen uncovered by the stripping away of DEIRDRE KINAHAN to artists. the layers of her illusion. We bear WRITER with her the terrible cost of hearing
The Saviour breaks silence around that truth and the massive betrayal at a particular obscenity. The root the heart of it. AWARD-WINNING PLAYWRIGHT of that word, obscene, goes back Deirdre Kinahan is a member of to the very foundation of western In this Midsummer of 2021, the play Aosdána, Ireland’s elected body of drama, to the great Greek tragedians. is staged against the backdrop of outstanding artists. What cannot be shown in the scene, endless daily talk of ‘getting back because it is too horrendous to to normal’ after a year and a season Her recent work includes Embargo, be shown, happened obs skené, of lockdown and governance by Rathmines Road (Fishamble); Dear off stage, and is reported back metadata. Máire’s story is a powerful Ireland, The Bloodied Field, The to us - Oedipus stabbing his own argument for never going back to Unmanageable Sisters (Abbey eyes, blinding himself for what he any normality out of which that story Theatre); Crossings (Pentabus UK); considers his moral blindness; Jason comes. Wild Notes (Solas Nua DC); Renewed eating his own children baked in a pie (Old Vic London). by Medea, her revenge for his taking If we are lucky, we move too towards another woman. If it can’t be shown, compassion and forgiveness, Forthcoming projects include the it can and it must be imagined. Our especially for ourselves in our own opera Fallen for Meath County own imaginations provide all the fated dance with history. If great Council, Creative Ireland, and drama needed, conjured by language, theatre has a great function, it is Belfast Ensemble; the musical Ettie in this instance by the incantatory to reveal our own hand in our own for Irish Arts Center NYC; a play power of the text and by the passion suffering. commemorating the Civil War for of skilled theatre artists. Meath County Council; a new play, This is great theatre. Grace, for Landmark Productions; We are the appalled witnesses to and In the Middle of the Fields for the obscenity, to this opening of a Paula Meehan Solas Nua DC. festering wound, as we move through Dublin, June 2021 the action, inexorably towards Deirdre is an Associate Artist with revelation. If revelation is the end of Meath County Council Arts Office. the journey, it is an apocalyptic one Her plays are translated into many for this Carlow family. languages, published by Nick Hern Books and produced regularly in In The Saviour we are immersed in Ireland and on the international stage. Máire’s psyche to such a degree that, as in zero gravity, we find it hard to discern direction, we are disoriented 8 9 MARIE MULLEN BRIAN GLEESON MÁIRE MEL
THEATRE CREDITS include BRIAN RECENTLY WRAPPED filming Testament (Landmark Productions/ the role of Ross in the television Dublin Theatre Festival); many series Extinction for Sky. He was productions for Druid, including recently seen in Frank of Ireland, DruidShakespeare: Richard which he wrote with Domhnall III, Sive, Brigit, Bailegangaire, Gleeson and Michael Moloney for DruidShakespeare: Richard II, Henry Channel 4, Amazon and Merman. IV (Parts 1 and 2), The Colleen Bawn, DruidMurphy (Best Supporting Theatre credits include The Walworth Actress, Irish Times Irish Theatre Farce (Landmark Productions); Awards), The Cripple of Inishmaan, Beckett’s Room (Dead Centre/Gate Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Theatre); Cat on a Hot Tin Roof DruidSynge (Best Actress, Irish (Young Vic); The Weir (Lyric Theatre); Times Irish Theatre Awards), The and The Night Alive (Donmar Beauty Queen of Leenane (Best Warehouse; Atlantic Theatre). Actress in a Play, Tony Awards) and The Playboy of the Western World; Television credits include Frank of The Children and Crestfall (Gate Ireland (Channel 4, Amazon, Merman), Theatre); and On Raftery’s Hill (Abbey Peaky Blinders (BBC), Taken Down Theatre). (RTÉ), Resistance (RTÉ), The Bisexual (Channel 4, Hulu), The Flag, Rebellion Film and television credits include (RTÉ), Stonemouth (BBC) and Quirke Pure Mule, When Brendan Met Trudy, (BBC, RTÉ). Dancing at Lughnasa, The Butcher Boy, The Van and Circle of Friends. Film credits include Death of a Ladies Man, Hellboy, Angela’s Christmas, Marie is a founding member of Druid Phantom Thread, Logan Lucky, Theatre Company. Mother!, Psychic, The Flag, Assassin’s Creed, History’s Future, Stay, Darkness on the Edge of Town, Serious Swimmers, Standby, Snow White and the Huntsman and How to Be Happy.
10 11 Marie Mullen and Brian Gleeson in rehearsal. Photo: Barry Cronin 12 13 LOUISE LOWE CONOR MITCHELL DIRECTOR COMPOSER
Awards), Torch (St. Helen’s), Hentown Intolerance (Tete a Tete Festival); (Dublin City Council), These Rooms The Musician (Belfast Ensemble); (CoisCeim/London International Shadowtime (Royal Festival Hall); Festival of Theatre/NOW1418/Dublin Requiem for the Disappeared Theatre Festival), PALS (National (Spark Opera, ACNI); the sinfonietta Museum of Ireland), Angel Meadow 20: Ceasefire (Kabosh/Ensemble); (HOME Manchester - Best Production Abomination: a DUP Opera (Best and Best Ensemble, Manchester Opera Production at the 2020 Theatre Awards), Laundry, The Boys Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards). of Foley Street and World’s End Lane. His award-winning song cycle Ten Plagues (Royal Court, Traverse As a freelance director, her theatre Theatre) was recently revived credits include Test Dummy (Theatre at Wilton’s Music Hall, London, Upstairs); Deep (Cork Opera House); performed and released by the pop The End of the Road (Fishamble); singer Marc Almond. Across the Lough (Performance Corporation); Secret Street, He is currently working on a Mass for AS A THEATRE MAKER, Louise Right Here Right Now, The Baths CONOR IS A multi award-winning the Ulster Orchestra, and a major new makes site-specific and immersive and Demeter Project (Prime Cut opera/music-theatre composer, opera The Trial of Harvey Weinstein art works within communities of Productions). librettist and stage director. He is for the Belfast Ensemble. space, place and interest. founder and Artistic Director of The Film and television credits include Belfast Ensemble, an Ivor Novello Since co-founding ANU in 2009, she Fair City (RTÉ); Falling Out of nominee and the recipient of the has directed all of the company’s Standing and Hawks Nest. Arts Council Northern Ireland Major multi-award winning work to date, Individual Artists Award - the highest including The Party to End all Parties honour bestowed by the body. (Dublin Theatre Festival), Canaries (Dublin Port), Faultline (Gate Theatre/ Recent scores/collaborations include Dublin Theatre Festival), The Anvil his Concertino for Flute & Orchestra (Manchester International Festival), (Ulster Orchestra); the operas Our The Lost O’Casey (Abbey Theatre/ Day, The Garden the Ghost and Dublin Theatre Festival - Best the Butterfly (NI Opera); Message New Play, Irish Times Irish Theatre for Marty (Irish National Opera); 14 15 JOAN O’CLERY COSTUME DESIGNER
THREE-TIME WINNER of The Irish Times Irish Theatre Award for Best Costume Design, Joan has originated the costumes for several world premieres by major Irish writers, including Seamus Heaney, Brian Friel, Tom Murphy and Frank McGuinness.
Her costumes are regularly seen on many stages around Ireland. Highlights of her costuming work include Macbeth at the RSC; An Enemy of the People at the Gate Theatre; DruidMurphy for Druid and She Stoops to Conquer at the Abbey Theatre.
For Landmark, she has costumed The Approach, The Second Violinist (co-produced with Irish National Opera) and Woyzeck in Winter (co- produced with Galway International Arts Festival). Opera designs include La Traviata for ENO, Dubliners for Wexford Festival Opera and Madama Butterfly for Irish National Opera.
Twice nominated for IFTA awards for her screen work, films include King of the Travellers, Swansong, Snap, Out of Innocence, Dating Amber and The Delinquent Season. Brian Gleeson in rehearsal: Photo: Barry Cronin 16 17 MARY TUMELTY CAMERON MACAULAY LIGHTING DESIGNER SOUND DESIGNER
MARY HAS CREATED the lighting CAMERON IS A COMPOSER and design for a wide range of media sound designer based in Dublin. He including theatre, installations, film, also has experience as a director, television and streaming. Mary actor and writer. graduated from Queen’s University, Belfast with a BA in Drama Studies. Theatre credits include Love and Mary works at the Brian Friel Theatre Charity (Mother Tongues Festival); at Queen’s University and the Grand Some Names Were Changed Opera House, Belfast. (Dublin Fringe Festival), Cleft (Rough Magic, in association with Galway Lighting design credits include International Arts Festival and Abomination (Belfast Ensemble/ Kilkenny Arts Festival); Everything Outburst Festival Arts); Body Between Us (Rough Magic); The Politics (Macha Productions, in Water Orchard and Bears in Space association with The Mac Theatre); (Collapsing Horse). and Kindermusik (Belfast Children’s Festival). Installation design credits He recently scored his first feature include Crazy Golf (Craigavon); and film, Rebecca’s Boyfriend (Vah Vah Airtastic (Abbey Centre). Films), which will be commencing its festival run at the IndieCork Film Associate Lighting Design credits Festival in 2021. include Christmas for Dummies (Grand Opera House); and Shirley Cameron was selected to be a (Lyric Theatre). participant on SEEDS 2014–15, a development programme for Film, television and streaming credits emerging theatre artists run by include Conversations with Friends Rough Magic. (Element Pictures / BBC Three / Hulu), Ten Plagues, The Musician (Belfast Ensemble); and Democracy Dances - For Orchestra and Electronics (Belfast Ensemble / Ulster Orchestra).
18 19 LEANNA CUTTLE LEO McKENNA STAGE MANAGER STAGE MANAGER
LEANNA CUTTLE IS a creative LEO IS A FREELANCE stage/ producer and theatre maker based in company/production manager based Dublin. in Dublin and has worked with all of the major Irish producers and She has worked in multiple areas venues. of theatre throughout the years, including acting, stage management, For Tyrone Productions he was company management and Production Stage Manager for the producing. She just recently Pope’s visit to Croke Park and has completed the Screen Production been showcaller for several stadium- Department Skills at Limerick IT scale live broadcast events over the and the Gate Theatre’s producing years. Leo is also the Line Producer masterclasses with Kate Pakenham. for The Gaiety Theatre, delivering the annual Pantomime and other Gaiety Theatre credits include Canaries productions, including the recent The (ANU / Dublin Port); The Party to End Lieutenant of Inishmore. All Parties (ANU / Dublin Theatre Festival); The Lost O’Casey (ANU Most recently he was Production / Abbey Theatre / Dublin Theatre Manager for The Irish Repertory Festival); Half Light (Bominate Theatre’s production of Marina Carr’s Theatre); Collected Stories (Then This The Cordelia Dream, to be streamed Theatre); King Lear, The Merchant next month. He is delighted to be of Venice, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet working once again with Landmark (Gaiety School of Acting). Productions.
20 21 PRODUCTION MANAGER EAMONN FOX STAGE MANAGERS LEANNA CUTTLE LEO McKENNA LX PROGRAMMER MATT BURKE HAIR AND MAKE-UP LAOISE McGINN VAL SHERLOCK PROPS BUYER SADHBH BARRETT COAKLEY CREW HUGH ROBERTS BY DEIRDRE KINAHAN MARK DONOVAN IAN BROWN
MÁIRE MARIE MULLEN SEÁN SPILLANE MEL BRIAN GLEESON LANDMARK PRODUCTIONS PRODUCER FEATURING THE VOICES OF ANNE CLARKE BELLE BOSS DIGITAL PRODUCER HUGH FARRELL ALEX FINUCANE ASSISTANT PRODUCER JACK FARRELL JONATHAN WHITE DRAMATURG ELEANOR WHITE MARKETING SINEAD McPHILLIPS DIRECTOR LOUISE LOWE PUBLICITY SINEAD O’DOHERTY COMPOSER CONOR MITCHELL BOX OFFICE ASSISTANT ANNIE DUFFY McMAHON COSTUME DESIGNER JOAN O’CLERY PHOTOGRAPHERS PATRICK REDMOND LIGHTING DESIGNER MARY TUMELTY JED NIEZGODA SOUND DESIGNER CAMERON MACAULAY BARRY CRONIN GRAPHIC DESIGN GARETH JONES
The performance runs for 70 minutes without an interval. MOTION GRAPHICS SAYONARA BITTENCOURT
22 23 STREAMING DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY JOE EDWARDS VISION MIXER JAMES RYAN LIVE STREAM FACILITIES STATIONHOUSE MEDIA CAMERA OPERATORS MARTIN BIRNEY GERRY MACARTHUR SOUND ENGINEER PAUL ASHE-BROWNE STREAMING TECHNICIAN JONATHAN CONNOLLY PRODUCTION ASSISTANT AARON GANNON
Louise Lowe in rehearsal. Photo: Barry Cronin 24 25 LANDMARK LIVE
‘LANDMARK Landmark Live is a new online streaming platform PRODUCTIONS which enables Landmark to bring the thrill of live HAVE QUICKLY theatre to audiences around the world. BECOME LEADERS IN DIGITAL THEATRE Launched in January 2021, Landmark Live IN IRELAND productions include: WITH THEIR The Approach by Mark O’Rowe ONLINE VIEWING broadcast live from Project Arts Centre, Dublin PLATFORM, LANDMARK LIVE’ Happy Days by Samuel Beckett Sunday Business Post in association with, and broadcast live from, the Olympia Theatre, Dublin ‘OF ALL THE STREAMED Ross O’Carroll-Kelly, PRODUCTIONS Postcards from the Ledge I HAVE SEEN broadcast live from Mermaid Arts Centre, IN THE PAST Co. Wicklow Landmark Productions and Galway International Arts Festival YEAR, THIS ONE COMES CLOSEST The Saviour by Deirdre Kinahan TO CAPTURING presented as part of Cork Midsummer Festival THE FOCUS AND and broadcast live from The Everyman Medicine TENSION OF LIVE NEXT UP THEATRE’. by Enda Walsh The Guardian on the Medicine by Enda Walsh Edinburgh Galway International live-broadcast of co-produced with, and broadcast live from, International Festival Arts Festival The Approach Galway International Arts Festival 4–29 August (In-person) 2–18 September (In-person and live-streamed)
LIVE-STREAM TICKETS NOW ON SALE! 26 27 THANK YOU JOIN THE CONVERSATION
We are grateful to the following for their help with this production: Lara Beach, Belle Boss, Sara Cregan, Ben Finucane, Sean Foley, Paul Glaser, Thank you for joining us to watch Candice Gordon, Günther Grosser, Karl Hayden, Paul Keogan, Meike Krüger, Daniel Nicolai, Ruairi O’Connor, Jonathan Shankey, Paula Meehan, Nik Quaife, The Saviour by Deirdre Kinahan. Christine Sisk, Rachel West and Lily Williams, together with Sophie Motley, Seán Kelly, Naomi Daly and all at The Everyman, and Lorraine Maye, Allyson O’Sullivan, Conall Ó Riain and all at Cork Midsummer Festival. Join the conversation online using the hashtag #TheSaviour. Deirdre Kinahan would like to thank:
Matt Applewhite, Michael B, Anne Clarke, Georgia Gatti, Nick Hern, Eleanor White, Matthew Warchus, Julie Walters, Lily Williams, the amazing creative team for this production, Marie, Louise, Brian and, as always, my wonderful family Gary, Siobhra and Sadhbh. @LandmarkIreland
We’d love to hear your thoughts.
FUNDING Should you have any comments you’d like to share with us ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS please email [email protected]
The production of The Saviour is made possible by Arts Grant Funding from The Arts Council. International touring is supported by Culture Ireland.
28 29 IN THE GREEN ROOM WITH THE SAVIOUR
POST-SHOW TALK
Moderated by MEIKE KRÜGER
The Embassy of Ireland in Germany and the Consulate General of Ireland in Frankfurt present in partnership with Landmark and The English Theatre in Frankfurt, English Theatre Berlin, and The English Theatre of Hamburg:
In the Green Room with The Saviour a post-show talk moderated by Meike Krúger with Deirdre Kinahan, Louise Lowe, Marie Mullen and Anne Clarke
Tuesday 22 June 6pm IST (Irish Standard Time) 7pm CET (Central European Time)
Please click HERE to register your attendance
PROUDLY PRESENTED BY
Deirdre Kinahan and Marie Mullen in rehearsal. Photo: Barry Cronin Available to view online at Cork Midsummer30 Festival from the 19th of June 31 landmarkproductions.ie @LandmarkIreland