On the town: 'A great catch for Cork," enthused Minister for Arts John O'Donoghue as he went on to praise Ed Harris for his commanding, yet at times perfectly understated, performance in the world premiere of Wrecks by Neil LaBute at the Everyman Palace theatre, Cork, last Wednesday.
O'Donoghue's fellow Co Kerry native and former Progressive Democrat TD, Máirín Quill - who was accompanied by her sister, Ita - was equally wowed by Harris's performance though she did observe that it was "a strange story".
The Detroit playwright, who is about to edit his remake of The Wicker Man starring Nicolas Cage, was looking forward to the play's opening in Cork, saying he always found Irish audiences "very receptive to storytelling theatre".
Among the early arrivals was Cork playwright Declan Hassett, while Munster Literature Centre director Pat Cotter said the premiere showed the Everyman's commitment to new writing.
Everyman Palace artistic director Pat Talbot, who persuaded LaBute to premiere the work in Cork, looked understandably pleased with the reaction to the play.
Among those spotted at the opening night were veteran actors Michael Twomey and Frank Duggan (fondly remembered as Cha and Miah in Hall's Pictorial Weekly), Frank Twomey, aka Mary O'Rourke from Bull Island, and Liam Heffernan, who played Blackie in Glenroe.
Attracting admiring glances from many female members of the audience was English actor Ben Chaplin, star of The Truth about Cats and Dogs, who, like both Harris and LaBute, looked very much at home Leeside as he chatted with locals. - BR
Wrecks is at the Everyman Palace, Cork, until Dec 3
God is in the house
Ireland's poets came out in force to celebrate the publication of the latest collection of poetry by John F Deane. Among those gathered at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland last Monday night were Séamus Heaney, Dennis O'Driscoll and Pádraig J Daly.
Deane's book, The Instruments of Art, "is a work of sombre elegance and intimate discourse", said fellow poet and journalist Gerard Smyth who introduced the collection. "Achill can never claim to be unsung. Its landscape is anatomised in gorgeous descriptive detail," he said, adding, "John is a religious poet . . . God is much addressed in these poems."
"My poetry continues to be an exploration of what my faith used to be on Achill Island," said Deane, who is one of the country's most distinguished poets and winner of many international awards. "Having lost the simplicity of what I was brought up with, I've been trying to find a new meaning through faith that underlies it all."
The collection includes The Dromedary Caravans, in memory of artist Tony O'Malley, which "refers to a moment, for me, of absolute profundity", said his widow, Jane O'Malley. In this poem Deane describes the artist "prepared for the journey . . . one box of charcoal pencils, the instruments of his art, against his breast".
Also at the event were poets Chris Agee, John O'Donnell, Anatoly Kudryavitsky, whose first collection in English, Shadow of Time, was recently published by Goldsmith Press, and Iggy McGovern, a physicist from TCD whose first book of poetry, King of Suburbia, was also published this month.
Deane's wife, Ursula Foran, his daughters Laura, Catherine and Mary, and his brother, composer Raymond Deane, were among those who enjoyed listening to singer/songwriter Philip Flynn from Barna in Co Galway perform at the event.
The Instruments of Art by John F Deane is published by Carcanet
Two loves of the French
It was a night to savour two separate but closely aligned French artistic creations - film-making and cognac, according to Alexandre Ricard, financial director of Irish Distillers and the Martell Cognac representative, at a reception last Tuesday night to mark the opening of the Martell Cognac French Film Festival.
"The way they [the French] have treated cinema through the decades is the equivalent of the way we approach our Irish literary tradition," said Mark Mulqueen, director of the Irish Film Institute (IFI) in Dublin. "They take film so seriously," he said.
"French cinema has possibly one of the strongest and one of the biggest legacies in cinema outside of Bollywood and Hollywood," said Gráinne Humphreys, IFI assistant director and director of the 10-day festival.
"The sheer range of talent is extremely rich and it [the output] spans everything from mainstream to the more experimental and arthouse movie," she said.
Humphreys was looking forward to the visit of Virginie Ledoyen, the French actress who "has been acting since she was nine and has worked with some of the best directors and provided some amazing performances. And she's still only 26".
She also listed the upcoming visit of French director Bertrand Tavernier, for the screening of his new film, Holy Lola, next Monday at 6.30pm and the discussion afterwards.
Helen Meany, editor of Irish Theatre magazine and curator of Critical Voices, the Arts Council programme of debate and discussion for 2006, said one of the most exciting items in the programme will be the screening tonight of Michael Haneke's new film, Caché (Hidden), at 8.30pm. He is concerned with "bringing up difficult issues, particuarly about racial prejudices and the exposure of our inner most fears", she said.
The Martell Cognac Irish Film Festival, in assocation with the French embassy continues at the IFI, Temple Bar, Dublin until Thurs, Dec 1
Home is where the Trust is
Well-known faces from many walks of life could be spotted at Dublin's City Hall last Tuesday night for a reception to mark the 30th anniversary of Trust, the charity for the homeless.
The great hurling forward and manager from Tipperary Babs Keating, novelist Deirdre Purcell, poet Micheal O'Siadhail and Gerard Byrne, who plays Malachy in Fair City, were among those who came to support the Dublin charity.
The proceedings also included the launch by broadcaster Pat Kenny of a DVD film, which it is hoped will help create a greater awareness of the needs of the homeless. The film, Building Trust in the Community, will be available free to different groups around the country with the aim of fuelling a national debate, according to Ronan Tynan, its co-producer with Anne Daly.
"There's a feeling now that you can change people but you cannot force people to change. You are always going to have people who are difficult and outsiders in all communities," said Trust director and co-founder Alice Leahy. "People are afraid because it does something to you when you are faced with somebody who is broken and different. We shouldn't be afraid of differences."
Robert McCarthy, Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, said "the thing about Trust is that it deals with the poorest of the poor" and unlike many other hostels, which will not take individuals who will be troublesome and disruptive, "Trust deals with anybody sleeping outside", he said.
Also at the event were Christine Buckley of the Aislinn Education and Support Centre, Louis Copeland, tailor to the stars and a trustee of Trust, and John FitzGerald Dublin city manager.
For information about Trust and the DVD Building Trust in the Community, e-mail info@trust-ireland.ie or see www.trust-ireland.ie