Pick of the Week: Positive Dead People

My pick of the week is this two-hander "Positive Dead People" by Pauline Shanahan, and featuring herself and Clodagh O'Donoghue, directed by my old pal and collaborator Paul Meade, at Bewely's Cafe theatre. It's great fun and perfect for that charming space, all to be imbibed with a bit of grub on the side. It's a sort of Huis Clos meets Heaven Can Wait meets The Wedding Planner. Runs until March 14th, at 1pm. Tickets €15 including lunch. www.bewleyscafetheatre.com

& by the way, I don't agree with Peter Crawley's review of Marina Carr's "Marble" in today's paper. No, not at all. I think men often have difficulty getting Marina Carr's plays.

Dublin Culture

There has been an abundance of great stuff on of late here in Dublin:
1. Artist Gary Coyle's fantastic and often hilarious "At Sea" meditation on the 40 foot and
the last decade of his oeuvre at Project Cube. What a pity if you missed that. Might the 'living sculpture' come back ever? www.garycoyle.ie
2. Marina Carr's wonderful new play "Marble" - I loved this and it was only the 2nd preview,
so I recommend you go and see this. She is out of the midlands and into contemporary
urban life - albeit with a big fat unconscious undertow. Brilliant.
3. Jonathan Mitchell's photographic show "still, life", at "Dance House" - 'a photographic exploration of Ireland's Modern Dance Pioneers'. Drop in and see these wonderful, quirky
portraits of some pretty special artists. It's on all year.

Long Quest for Lost Abbey Photographs

The discovery of these lost Abbey School of Ballet photographs (below, previous post), was part of a long quest. First, there was the 2004 RTE Radio Series, "Nice Moves"; then, there was the adjacent letter to the Irish Times, on December 31st, 2004; then there was the discovery of hidden gem, Doreen Cuthbert, and the consequent Irish Times Irishwoman's Diary (also adjacent - click on it to enlarge), about her extraordinary life and contribution, on March 12th, 2005. Then came the publication of "IRISH MOVES" in 2006 - but still no photographs. It wasn't until 2008, as a result of the book being seen by a certain person who shall for the moment remain nameless, that the below SEVEN lost images re-surfaced. Let's hope we'll get to exhibit them for the public very soon, along with broadcasting Doreen's wonderful interview... Getting closer... Keep watching this space!

Abbey School of Ballet Salvage

Here are some wonderful, rare, and never-before-seen (well, in recent history anyway) images to help us reclaim, and salvage the lost and neglected history of the Abbey School of Ballet, founded by Ninette de Valois and WB Yeats (1927 - 1933), in Dublin's Abbey Theatre. That's our national theatre. I discovered these images, 'gold-dust', through my long and extensive research in the area, and specifically through my book "Irish Moves - an illustrated history of dance and physical theatre in Ireland". I am really excited at the prospect of sharing them with a wider public, and raising awareness of our considerable dance legacy with an exhibition of them, and other Abbey School of Ballet memorabilia. If you know of any likely sponsors or avenues for funding such a celebration of our considerable cultural heritage - I am all ears. Please let me know! This would be a great project to be associated with as patron. The proposed exhibition will be in tandem with a broadcast of a fantastic interview with Doreen Cuthbert (pictured in many of the adjacent photographs, and starring in many of the Abbey School of Ballet shows, 1928 - 1933). Her first-hand reminiscences of her time with WB Yeats, Ninette de Valois, and Lennox Robinson - to name but a few, are heart-warming, enlightening, and extremely historic. Let's celebrate, and hence build upon what is already ours - our considerable cultural heritage. Your thoughts and suggestions on this great project are most welcome.

Abracadabra!: Another thing about India...

(Yup, that's me on the "Diana Seat" in front of the Taj Mahal - as seen in Slumdog Millionaire!). I hope it wins the Oscars, if only for the fairytale Bollywood Dancing at the end! What does the Jantar Mantar of Jaipur predict, I wonder?

Superstition is big in India - as you will see here from the incredible "Jantar Mantar"

of Jaipur. The ruling class consulted these giant zodiacal/astronomical sculptures to figure out

how to rule their kingdoms, and how to do pretty much everything, basically. I think this one here is the sculpture for Capricorn, so you could really walk around the movement of the planets in live-action shadow figuring out what the future held in store for you ... Incredible! Here is a quote on the Jantar Mantar (great name), from Wikipedia:

"The Jantar Mantar is a collection of architectural astronomical instruments, built by Maharaja (King) Jai Singh IIat his then new capital of Jaipur between 1727 and 1734. It is modeled after the one that he had built for him at the then Mughal capital of Delhi. He had constructed a total of five such labs at different locations, including the ones at Delhi and Jaipur. The Jaipur observatory is the largest of these.

The name is derived from yantra ("instrument"), and mantra ("formula", or in this context "calculation"). Therefore jantar mantar means literally 'calculation instrument'. In local Rajasthani dialects, it is often seen that 'ya' syllables are casually pronounced as 'ja'. For instance, 'yatra' (journey) will often be referred to as 'jatra'. Moreover, the way locals interpret the name is not as its literal meaning, it is suspected that by 'jantar-mantar' they mean 'magical words', 'abracadabra' or 'tantric incantations'.

The World of Slumdog Millionaire - Photographs I took...

Slumdog Millionaire - Photographs I took in Varanasi, India