Bebo

Our second review for Trainspotting, this time thanks to Gerry Moran in the Kilkenny People.

THE OLD ORDER IS CHANGING, YIELDING PLACE TO NEW.

When, exactly, does the old order yield to the young? When, for instance, did the fifties finally surrender to the swinging sixties? When did showbands succumb to beat groups and discos? It's never quite black or white but there comes a moment, I believe, when you just know something has changed.

I experienced one of those moments recently in our wonderful Watergate Theatre, I say wonderful for two reasons: one, it is a wonderful amenity (and thank you Tommy Martin for you vision and drive which gave Kilkenny the Watergate) and two, the production I was at was nothing short of wonderful. At least this writer thought so.

The production in question was Trainspotting, an adaptation of Scottish author Irvine Welsh's 1993 novel of the same name, by the Devious Theatre Company. "The Devious Theatre Company" according to the programme notes, "was formed in May 2006 by some theatre loving Kilkennyians who had a desire to bring fresh and different works to the local stage".

Trainspotting is decidedly different. John B Keane it is not. Brian Friel it is not. Hugh Leonard it is not. Trainspotting is a production you bring your elderly aunt to if you want to ease her into an early grave. It's a production you bring your mother to if you want to make her feel decidedly uneasy. As for elderly uncles and fathers - they'll probably tell you they've seen it all and heard it all before. Men are like that. Full of s***.

Trainspotting is also full of s***. Literally. And more. A hell of a lot more. Only to be expected from a play about drugs and disillusionment in a depressed Edinburgh of the bleak, recessionary 80s. This play is rough, raw, coarse and down-right crude. But that's what made it such a courageous, and successful, production.

The performances were far from flawless (just like this column) but it was passionate, it was vibrant, it was honest. I applaud all involved with the production - the crew, the directors: Niamh Moroney & John Morton and the cast: Ross Costigan, Ken McGuire, Niall Sheehy, Maria Murray, Stephen Colfer, Paul Young, John Morton, Suzanne O'Brien, Simone Kelly, Mariead Keirnan, Micheal Murphy, Paddy Dunne. And I have no difficulty whatsoever in singling out Ross Costigan who was the linchpin, the nucleus, the centre of gravity of the play. The guy was marvellous. Full stop.

Regarding theatre in Kilkenny - I have been privileged to come up in an era of the New Theatre Group, Pan Players, Theatre Unlimited, Kats, Bickerstaffe, Barnstorm to name but a few - all of whom made, and some of whom continue to make, a huge and enriching contribution to theatre life in our city.

But Thursday night last I felt that a new order has arrived. A new batch of actors. A young batch, a fresh batch, a vibrant batch. And I felt privileged to be sitting there, witnessing the arrival of this new order.

My friend and fellow columnist, John Cleere, who knows a thing or two about theatre (it's not for nothing we have Cleere's Theatre just across from the Watergate) wrote the following about the Devious Theatre Company recently: "The Devious Theatre could be as important to Kilkenny as Druid Theatre have been to Galway and Red Kettle to Waterford, given the proper encouragement and support". I couldn't agree more.

But you know something - even if the Devious Theatre Company never win acclaim, they are to be applauded for what they are doing now. For starters they're putting bums on seats - and I thought it was wonderful to see so many young people in the Watergate last week. Such a change from the regular fuddy-duddies (like myself).

They're also doing what they set out to do - they're bringing fresh and different works to the local stage. And they do it with such energy and such enthusiasm. And it was that energy, that enthusiasm emanating from the stage, that made

Our first review for Trainspotting came out this morning thanks to John Cleere in the Kilkenny Advertiser;

TRAINSPOTTING AT THE WATERGATE THEATRE
Have you ever watched the high wire act at the circus? Part of the fascination is wondering will someone slip and crash to the ground.

The Devious Theatre Company took to the high wire this week when they tackled Irvine Welsh’s ‘Trainspotting’. This was risky stuff, the film is familiar to the mainly young audience, so they needed to bring something fresh to their stage adaptation.

I’m glad to say there are no shattered bones or broken artistic reputations to report. For anyone unfamiliar with the book or film, this is the story of a bunch of pretty hopeless cases living very close to, if not completely over, the edge in Edinburgh. This isn’t the Edinburgh seen by visitors to the arts festival or rugby internationals. We are down in the underbelly where unemployment, alcohol and heroin are boss.

So, in a week that the country has been officially declared to be in a recession, is this the type of show that we really need? Actually I think it is. Along with a dose of reality there are plenty of laughs, especially once you come to terms with the near perfect Scottish accents.

The play has a cast of 11, some playing multiple roles. This is a big undertaking, but the company use two directors, Niamh Moroney and John Morton, to knock it into shape. I caught the opening night where there were just a couple of slow moments, but this should be ironed out by now.

With such a large cast it’s probably unfair to single out any individual performance, but in this case Ross Costigan deserves special mention. He is on stage for most of the show and you just know that this is the part he always wanted as he makes his journey through the hell of heroin addiction and back out again.

By the way, if you are easily offended this is probably not the play for you, although thousands of people seem to have no problem guffawing away to much more distasteful material from Tommy Tiernan.

Earlier in the day I attended the AGM of Kilkenny Tourism where the County Manager, Joe Crockett, outlined the importance of arts and culture to the future of Kilkenny. The Devious Theatre could be as important to Kilkenny as Druid Theatre have been to Galway or Red Kettle to Waterford, given the proper encouragement and support.

‘Trainspotting’ continues at The Watergate until Saturday June 28. ‘Not to be missed’, as the reviewers love to say.

The final photos from 'A Summer Well Wasted 2! : Lets get Toxic' are now up and the scores are in!

Check out the final scores here on my blog;

http://staff.kilkennymusic.com/oss23...