We are delighted for Pat Kinevane and our friends at Fishamble who won an Olivier Award for their show Silent at last night’s awards ceremony in London. And even better news is that you can see Silent for yourself in just a few short weeks as we will have it here on Thursday 28 April!
Silent tells the story of Tino McGoldrig, a man from the small Irish town of Cobh but living in Dublin, who is named for silent movie star Rudolph Valentino (‘Rudolph would have been a disaster in Cobh’). He is a homeless man who shares his story with passersby, describes the footwear of the pedestrians, and dances with a blanket representing his wife, fondly remembering their ballroom-dancing championships.
Challenging and provocative, funny and moving, physical and inventive, Silent showcases Pat Kinevane’s wicked sense of humour and highly theatrical imagination while simultaneously avoiding the pitfalls of becoming too worthy about the difficult topics of homelessness and mental health and the reluctance we have to talk about such issues.
Little John Nee, another renowned solo performer, earlier picked out Silent as his highlight of An Grianán’s current season: “To put it very simply Pat Kinevane is one of my favourite writers and performers on the whole planet, I come away from his shows simultaneously entertained, inspired and humbled and the world is always a richer place as I travel home; only great theatre can do that; it’s rare, don’t miss it!”
An Grianán Theatre’s director Patricia McBride had wanted to bring Silent to Letterkenny for some time now but owing to its globe trotting success finding a date in the schedule was difficult. “We’ve hosted quite a few Fishamble shows and they are all quality theatre productions – last year’s ballroom dancing comedy Swing, Colin Murphy’s docu-drama Guaranteed!, Sonya Kelly’s wonderful comedy The Wheelchair on my Face and Sebastian Barry’s The Pride of Parnell Street – and they always go down well with our audiences. We had been hearing amazing things about Silent since its debut back in 2011 so we’re delighted to have it as one of the highlights of our Spring drama programme. And of course we are thrilled for Pat Kinevane and all our friends at Fishamble on winning an Olivier Award. It’s always great to see Irish Theatre performing so well on the international stage and how lucky are we to be able to present it right here in Letterkenny.”
Silent was awarded the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre following its run at London’s Soho Theatre last year. Founded in 1976, the Olivier Awards have become British Theatre’s most sought after award and are globally recognised as a mark of theatrical greatness.
Fishamble: The New Play Company present
Silent by Pat Kinevane
Thursday 28 April 2016 at 8pm.
Tickets; €16/€12 BOOK NOW!
