irishtheatremagazine

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The Letter Project by Meantime Theatre Company: by Rachel Andrews – Reviewed 19 June

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Young theatre company Meantime follows its assured debut production of The Good Father last year with a show structured around the idea of the letter as theatrical text. The production, which is performed at this stage as a work-in-progress, uses a series of anonymous letters, sought by and posted to the company, as the basis for an exploration into the power, beauty and insight of the written word. The idea, of course, is that – in an era of text, email and tweets – very few of us take the time to put pen to paper in order to express our thoughts. The piece is a showcase for the articulate, the pensive, the musing: all that our technological advances have perhaps driven us to leave behind.

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Because of the workshop-like nature of the production, the cast of four sits centre stage in a semi-circle reading, rather than acting out, the words written in the letters. Director Maria Moynihan wisely allows the unexpected poetry of the texts to shine through: the actors are muted, sombre, never over the top, while the poetry is unexpected because these are ordinary letters written by ordinary people and one forgets, and is reminded here, of the beauty that can exist in the expression of the everyday.

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The letters received by the company are clearly wide-ranging: one harrowingly accosts a father for a childhood destroyed by sex abuse; at the other end of the scale another vents rage at a clamping company; and another, never sent, tells a friend in prison of the depression that is beginning to envelop her.

But, interestingly, most of the letters read here are about love: love lost, love ended, memories and reminiscing, the ache of possibilities disappeared, the pain of an emotional rift, or struggle. One beautifully links each room in a house now being left behind with a memory from a relationship now left behind, while others, even though they are stand-alone letters, and do not receive a response, display a Rashomon-like ability to tell the same story in different ways.

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The production is very simple and clear: at times the cast – Liam Heffernan, Una Kirwan, Paula McGlinchey and Ciaran Ruby – interweave and overlap as the members move from letter to letter, or read from the same text; at other times recorded, disembodied voices, including that of child Sadhbh Gash-Ruby, read the text instead. The effect is strong and emotive: it’s always riveting and illuminating to hear the inner thoughts and concerns of others.

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The question is: where does the company take the project from here? Meantime looked for feedback after its show, some of which will inform the development of the production. Perhaps the decision needs to lie in considering the project’s reason for being. Is it a show about the power and art of letter-writing, and if so, is it strong enough to sustain the weight of a full theatrical production? Is it really the case that only a letter – and not, say, an email – can display consideration, honesty of emotion, and poetic insight? Frequently, perhaps, but not always. Meantime has started something here, but it remains to be seen if it can go any further.

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Rachel Andrews is an arts journalist and critic based in Cork.

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The Letter Project

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The perfect stage for letter writers

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Something on your mind? Your letter might end up in a production, writes Colette Sheridan…

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Cork-based Meantime Theatre Company is inviting the public to write letters about any experience that has changed them, with a view to mounting a theatrical production next year, based on the letters. You can write about your innermost thoughts, arising from a relationship or experience, or just rant about something that annoyed you. The letters must be anonymous and exclude names, place names or any other identifying details. They cannot be emailed but should preferably be typed.

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As artistic Director of Meantime Theatre Company, Maria Moynihan says: “This is a silent opportunity to write to someone or something, to share and engage. We believe everyone can write and, given the chance, there is a voice inside all of us wanting to emerge, but fearful of judgement or prejudice. This project seeks to eliminate those feelings and provide a platform for those that have none”. It is also a way or resurrecting the dying art of letter-writing, which has largely been substituted by email and internet-based social networking.

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Meantime Theatre Company has received nearly 50 letters and has an initial deadline of December 31st.

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“The Letter Project isn’t about you being a fantastic writer. It’s about you telling the truth.”

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The project “came from me writing a letter to someone and never really intending to send it,” Moynihan said. “I had things I always wanted to say to the person. It was about a relationship. Writing the letter was cathartic and, in the end, I sent it and got a response. The person was glad I had put my thoughts down on paper”.

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As a result of writing her letter, Moynihan started to ruminate on how human relationships are shared. “Much of what we go through in our lives is shared by other people, maybe in a different way to how we experience it”.

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One of the more memorable letters that Moynihan received was written on a napkin. “It’s one of the most amazing things I’ve ever read. It’s amazing because it’s about the things that shaped the person’s life. The fact that it’s written on a napkin indicates that it was written with a sense of urgency. It’s a flood of expression and it’s really honest.

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Moynihan says that quite a lot of the letters start with the writer saying how gratified he/she is to be given the experience to let off steam: “We’ve had letters where people express how angry they felt towards car parking attendants. We’ve had funny letters that seem to have been sent by children. I would prefer if not all the letters were about relationships. Nor should people think that the letters have to be long and wordy. Some of the best ones are short and to the point. We’d love to see more humourous letters and angry ones if that’s what people are feeling. I’ve had a conversation with someone who wants to write a letter to a cancer they’ve had”.

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The Letter Project is a community effort and is in keeping with Meantime Theatre Company’s goal of producing accessible and relevant theatre with a broad appeal. “We’ll try and formulate a story from the letters. We may take bits from different letters to make one whole narrative”.

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The seven members of Meantime Theatre Company are UCC graduates, including graduates of the drama and theatre studies course at the university. The company was launched in April with a production of The Good Father by Irish playwright, Christian O’Reilly. It goes on tour in the new year.

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The postal address for The Letter Project is: Meantime Theatre Company, c/o Civic Trust House, 50 Pope’s Quay, Cork.

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The Good Father

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EVENING ECHO REVIEW, TUESDAY 21st JULY 2009

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Excellent Performances In Rewarding Play

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The Good Father at The Granary Theatre

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A new theatre company hit the stage last night with a bittersweet romance. Meantime Theatre Company is made up of people who have grown up out of the Granary Theatre – drama students becoming theatre practitioners and developing their own company. The Good Father should prove a popular choice – an in-depth exploration of a slightly unorthadox story of a young man and woman’s relationship in contemporary Dublin. Christian O’Reilly’s play about two genuine people and their stories is edged forward gradually as the playwright pulls off the noteworthy feat of giving decency a dramatic edge where oftentimes good people can make for bad drama and nice can turn icky. It doesn’t bang on like a car chase as it takes an easy meandering route with exchanges like this: “I just want to talk.” “About what?” “Why does it have to be about anything?” But the play works with an unforced contemporary feeling and an emotional landscape that is real. James Browne, who has been one of the busiest actors in town for the past couple of years, turns in his best performance yet as Tim – a decent skin who is a little too sentimental, too optimistic and almost too good for this world. His opposite number is a much savvier operator who over time has developed a very thick and a somewhat unforgiving manner. Una Kirwan plays it right through to the heart in what is quite a moving performance. Director Maria Moynihan takes a sensitive approach to the material and elicits two really fine performances from Browne and Kirwan in what is an intimate and rewarding night.
– Liam Heylin

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IRISH EXAMINER REVIEW, THURSDAY 23RD JULY 2009

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THE GOOD FATHER
UCC GRANARY THEATRE

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This compelling play about an unplanned pregnancy is produced by Meantime Theatre Company, comprising graduates of UCC’s Drama and Theatre Studies course and members of the university’s dramatics society. A two-hander, starring James Browne as Tim and Una Kirwan as Jane, the drama starts at a New Year’s Eve party where Jane, a middle-class law graduate, and Tim, a working class painter and decorator, sleep together following Jane’s bold proposition. The two characters are drunk and are at odds with each other from the very beginning. That they are an unlikely pair is constantly reinforced with Jane, a cynical verbal jouster, correcting Tim’s use of language. Browne’s performance is superb, portraying a gauche sensitive guy who, after the initial shock of being told a baby is on the way, embraces fatherhood. Having been told that he is infertile, he is thrilled that he has defied the doctor’s prognosis. Being a father is something he always wanted, despite coming from an unhappy dysfunctional family. Jane is recovering from the break-up of her engagement to Harry. She too always wanted a family. But she is acutely conscious that Tim is not the kind of man her parents would have hoped for her. The only problem with this fine production is that the chemistry between Tim and Jane is not exactly palpable, apart from during their drunken encounter. Performed in the Granary studio space, there is an intimacy about it which is thoroughly engaging. **** – Colette Sheridan

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