1st Irish 2022 Gives Out SPIRIT OF THE FESTIVAL Awards
Origin 1st Irish is the world’s only theatre festival devoted to producing and presenting the theatrical work of contemporary Irish playwrights from across the globe.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Feb. 14, 2022
The closing ceremony for the 14th annual Origin 1st Irish Theatre Festival is being broadcast starting today on www.origintheatre.org Originally scheduled to run from Sun Jan 9 to Mon Jan 31, the hybrid virtual and in-person Festival was extended by several days to accommodate the world premiere of John Kearns' "Boann and the Well of Wisdom," which was forced to reschedule its run at Ryan's Daughter due to COVID-related developments.
Produced by Origin Theatre Company, 1st Irish 2022 was co-curated by the 2021 returning duo -- Origin's first-year artistic director Michael Mellamphy, and the actor and writer Sarah Street. Companies and artists from Newry (Northern Ireland), Dublin, Cork, Wexford, Washington DC, The Bronx, Queens and Manhattan all took part.
Origin 1st Irish is the world's only theatre festival devoted to producing and presenting the theatrical work of contemporary Irish playwrights from across the globe. It is known to present -- side-by-side -- new productions brought to life in New York, and recently acclaimed productions and special projects from a range of subsidized and independent theatres in Ireland.
The Festival's "Bairbre Dowling Spirit of the Festival Award," given on behalf Origin's board of directors to standout participants who made unique contributions, are going to three individuals who, in the words of Mellamphy, "exemplify the very spirit of 1st Irish." Ciaran Byrne who produced and directed the star-studded 50th anniversary commemoration of the Bloody Sunday at the Irish Arts Center on Jan 30 was selected "for bringing us together to remember the innocent victims of Bloody Sunday, with great affection, warmth and respect." Aedín Moloney of Fallen Angel Theater, who produced and directed the film, "Rising," was picked for "realizing a project that asks uneasy questions about life while modeling the strength and courage to persevere through adversity." The actor, radio personality and veteran yellow cabdriver John McDonagh - referred to affectionately as the "bard of gridlock" - was hailed for presenting his cabbie travelogue "Off the Meter" at Theatre 80 St Marks, and "donating all proceeds from his sold-out, three-night run to help save the East Village institution from getting shut down."
Among the plays seen on-line: Dublin's Fishamble: The New Play Company showed their acclaimed production of "Duck Duck Goose" (which opened the Festival and was their 8th show in the Festival); 2/ "City" from The Everyman in Cork (in its Festival debut), which the Irish Echo said "sublimely explores the experience of being human in non-human terms." 3/ About Face (Dublin) returned to 1st Irish for the second year running with an all-new edition of its award-winning, made-for-digital production that lets us eavesdrop on eight Zoom calls between Ireland and America, "Transatlantic Tales 2." 4/ The Wexford Arts Centre's "One Voice Festival: Tales from the Quay" consisted of eight short plays about Wexford's love affair with its storied quay. 5/ New York's the Irish Repertory Theatre contributed the digital premiere of its NY Times Critics' Pick production of "A Girl Is a Half-Formed Thing". 6/ And Solas Nua in Washington DC, brought the digital premiere of its acclaimed site-specific production from last summer, "In the Middle of the Fields."
On the in-person side of the aisle, 7/ Ireland's mega-beloved New York-born comedian Des Bishop kicked off the Festival unofficially from An Beal Bocht in The Bronx on Jan 6, with the first of four sold-out nights of his new comedy show "Mia Mamma," which also played at the NY Irish Center, The Triad and Arlene's Grocery. 8/ The world premiere of John Kearns' poetic drama "Boann and the Well of Wisdom" played five nights at Ryan's Daughter. 9/ Ireland's rising star David Gilna shot to the NY Irish Center for the world premiere of his electrifying true tale of being electrocuted in Boston, "A Bolt from D' Blue." 10/ The Irish Rep - the only company to produce both in-person and online events - presented the premiere of Clare O'Malley's solo musical "Transatlantic Living" mixing traditional Irish music and Broadway songs to tell her coming-to-America story. 11/ And in a honking success, John McDonagh reprised his crowd-pleasing cabbie travelogue "Off the Meter," at Theatre 80 St Marks, bringing wide media attention to the dangerous plight of the East Village arts landmark.
Also live at Symphony Space, and for the 6th year as part of 1st Irish, "Scór on Broadway," a unique community event took place, delighting members of New York's Irish diaspora of all ages and backgrounds. In this fun-filled and enriching show, produced by Jane McCarter O'Dowd, young performers and athletes from across the Tri-State came together to showcase their unique skills and accomplishments in sports and in the arts on a very prestigious stage.
1st Irish screened two films: 13/ the acclaimed documentary "The 8th" which artfully chronicles the final days of the monumental battle to repeal 8th Amendment outlawing abortion in Ireland in 2018. Co-directed and produced by Aideen Kane, Lucy Kennedy, Maeve O'Boyle, with producer Alan Maher, "The 8th" shows a country ushering in a new Ireland, breaking the thrall of the Catholic church at a time when reproductive rights are being threatened around the world, especially in the US of today.
Fallen Angel Theatre's Aedín Moloney produced and directed "Rising," a remarkable compendium of self-filmed reflections on the subject of regeneration, rebirth and renewal shot during COVID. Carefully assembled using her own galvanizing instincts in mixed media, Moloney asked a wide range of artists to respond to the question, "what does rising from the dark into the light mean to you right now?" ultimately synthesizing what was written, performed and choreographed in a variety of locations and personal contexts.
For more information, to see the entire Festival line-up and to view the closing ceremony, visit www.origintheatre.org
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