Beaten Up For My Love Of The Arts

If you believe the above photo, I’ve been beaten up for my love of the arts. Or more for the honour of performing with the DTC actors again in our production of Accidental Death Of An Anarchist which opens next Wednesday night in the new Set Theatre on John Street, Kilkenny.

We’re (as in The Devious Theatre Company) taking our next production to the new 252-seater space for a five night run commencing Wednesday December 2nd and wrapping Sunday December 6th.

Written in 1970, Accidental Death Of An Anarchist was inspired by events that took place in Italy in 1969 when an anarchist, Giuseppe Pinelli fell – or was thrown – from the fourth floor window of a Milan police station. He had been accused of a campaign of bombing, of which he was later found innocent. The resultant scandal uncovered a system rife with corruption and intensified public rage at the government. Intensification of public rage is something that Dario Fo is a master of with his work challenging church, government and the authorities in Italy for over 50 years.

Accidental Death Of An Anarchist takes place as an enquiry into the anarchist’s death is causing the policemen involved to have some difficulties remembering the details of the event. That is, until a nameless deranged madman shows up and proceeds to tie the authorities around his fingers in a master class performance of utter logic. The cast includes Alan Butler, Sean Hackett, Simone Kelly, myself, John Morton and David Thompson playing the famed role of the shape shifting Madman. Having previously donned the director’s hat for Trainspotting (2008), John finds himself wearing it again for this production (and also the followup with Fo’s Can’t Pay? Won’t Pay! next spring)

As is usually the case with adaptations of Dario Fo, this production will look at the events of the play through the prism of modern Ireland and the corruption and scandals inherent in our own political systems. Employing the comedic methods of commedia dell’arte and slapstick as used by Dario Fo, Accidental Death Of An Anarchist is an uproariously funny farce which rallies against political injustice and corruption.

To mark the occasion of the opening of the new show I’ve got two tickets sitting here on my desk that I would like someone to have. They’re for the opening night of the show on Wednesday coming and if you would like a chance at winning the tickets, leave a comment and tell me which Italian playwright penned Accidental Death Of An Anarchist. We’ll leave things run until tomorrow evening perhaps, say 5pm tomorrow (Friday) to try get a winner.

The show itself runs nightly at 8pm, doors open 7:30pm, we’ve priced tickets at €12 for some very affordable theatre and they can also be bought from Langtons on John Street, Rollercoaster Records on Kieran Street (Kilkenny) and online via DeviousTheatre.com.

The Day I Scored For Ireland

I haven’t enjoyed a Fifa game in a while, that is until Fifa 10 came along. It rekindled my interest in the game, rekindled my interest in Xbox Live, and furthermore introduced me to the social side of the game with the ability to upload videos and screenshots to the EA Sports World site.

Following last night’s defeat against France in Paris, I continued my Be A Pro first season, earning a callup to the Ireland reserve squad. Taking to the pitch away against Slovenia, it’s nice to bang in a goal on your international debut. Particularly one that hasn’t been taken from inside the box. Long distance goals just seem to be a rarity.

It is a pity though that the sharing side of the game is only available to Xbox Gold members but it’s not bad encouragement to work on your skills and then show them off online. By the way, I’m @mcguireken on Xbox Live.

Kilkenny Open Coffee November

photo credit: vmiramontes

The November meet of Kilkenny Open Coffee takes place tomorrow morning at 11:30am at the Kilkenny Cafe in Market Cross Shopping Centre. (Map here). I’d missed last month’s outing, being away with Devious Theatre, but you can read John Keyes’ writeup here to give you an idea as to what took place.

Kilkenny Open Coffee has been running since January this year; we’ve had some great discussions, some very busy mornings, some very quiet mornings, but no matter what the topic, it has constantly made for a great way to spend a few hours on a Wednesday morning. The gathering has grown in terms of regular attendees over the course of the year with matters business, technology, web, social and otherwise on the table for discussion. We’ve heard new business ideas, seen new product demos, listened to and shared advice and experiences, all the time making new contacts and new introductions.

If you’re in business, considering starting your own business, have a product to show off, a new idea to run by an interested audience, or you just want to get out of the house or office for a coffee and meet people in a similar workspace, then join us at the back of the Kilkenny Cafe tomorrow morning from 11:30am. The tea is plentiful, the wifi is free and you’ll be back in the office in time for lunch.

Visit KilkennyOpenCoffee.com or check out Kilkenny Open Coffee on Facebook and Twitter.