The Boys of Foley Street
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| Artist Name(s) | Anu Productions |
| Artwork title | The Boys of Foley Street |
| Context/Background | The Boys of Foley Street is the third installment of the four-part ‘Monto Cycle’, which explores the social history of this notorious area in Dublin’s north inner-city. Following on from the acclaimed World's End Lane and multiple award-winning Laundry, The Boys of Foley Street was first performed in 2012 as part of the Dublin Theatre Festival. The Boys of Foley Street was commissioned as part of the Dublin City Public Art Programme with funding from the Department of the Environment, Community and local government under the per-cent for art scheme. |
| Description | The Boys of Foley Street, by Anu Productions, was commissioned by Dublin City Council under Dublin City Public Art, and was received with great acclaim during its world premier run at the Dublin Theatre Festival in 2012. The Monto Cycle unearths four time capsules, with each segment reflecting one of four periods of regeneration spanning 1925-2014. The Boys of Foley Street was the third production in this four-part geographical project that explores the quarter mile history of Foley Street and its environs over the last one hundred years. A vital part of Dublin’s lost history and heritage, the comprising productions are: World's End Lane, Laundry, The Boys of Foley Street and Vardo Corner. Each production responds to a specific regeneration and renaming of the area. This series of work also serves an opportunity for the company to explore our state in microcosm as we approach the centenary of our inception. Through each piece we are attempting to ask the questions of who we are and why we are. The Boys of Foley Street is ANU’s most adventurous project to date. Chronicling the third regeneration of the area, this is a living, breathing exploration of the decade spanning from 1971-1982. Through intimate encounters, installation and RIFD technology, the audience is brought on an immersive journey through Foley Street to an area history left behind. The production evokes an era where recession and unemployment fuelled aggression, thievery, drug addiction and vice. It reflects a time all too similar to our present. The project is a revelatory site-specific experience, a further theatrical haunting of Foley Street, and ANU’s ambitious, multi-layered artistic response to waves of regeneration of Dublin. Artistic Director: Louise Lowe. |
| Mediation | The production received four and five star reviews and includes coverage in The Irish Times, The Irish Examiner, Irish Independent, The Observer, The Guardian, The Sunday Times and on Arena RTÉ Radio 1. It was also chose as a highlight of 2012 by Susannah Clapp of the The Observer, Fintan O’Toole of the Irish Times and Una Mulally, again writing for the Irish Times. |
| Commission Type | Local Authority,The Arts Council |
| Commissioner Name | Dublin City Council and Dublin Theatre Festival |
| Commissioning process | Open competition |
| Project commission dates | January 1, 2010 - December 31, 2014 |
| Artform | Theatre |
| Funded By | Dublin City Council,Other,The Arts Council |
| Percent for art | Yes |
| Budget Range | 35000 - 70000 euro |
| Project commission start date | 01/01/2010 |
| Project commission end date | 31/12/2014 |
| Location | Multiple locations around Foley Street, Dublin 1 |
| County | Dublin |
| Town | Dublin |
| Google Map Insert | View this projects location |
| Website | anuproductions.ie |
| Associated professionals / Specialists involved | Dublin Theatre Festival |
