50 Ways to Leave Dún Laoghaire
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| Artist Name(s) | Ciarán Taylor & Carpet Theatre |
| Artwork title | 50 Ways to Leave Dún Laoghaire |
| Context/Background | The commission for this project was to create a once off art work for the east of County Dublin. The artist chose Dún Laoghaire’s ferry terminal, a defining feature of the town and county, to stage a promenade performance. The location holds strong resonance nationally as a prime connection to Britain over two centuries. Most Irish people can conjure memories of passing through Dún Laoghaire harbour as emigrants or travellers. The new foot passenger terminal is a very different experience from the old B&I ferry terminal at the Carlisle Pier. It has the feeling of an airport with security checks, luggage belts and enclosed gangways. Leaving and arriving remain constants. For many citizens of Dún Laoghaire the twice-daily ferry's arrival and departure is seldom noticed; a background occurrence. The commissioned piece aimed to connect the town to the terminal and to register its significance. The audience’s walk from the Pavilion Theatre (which overlooks the port) to the plaza in front of the terminal physically marked this link. The audience could see a pattern emerge from the everyday as the performers arrived on to the plaza from various directions and became indistinguishable from bystanders by their collective action. With the familiar architecture now animated as a performance space, the audience entered the building for an experience which was about meaning rather than function. They were not there to leave, return or see people off, but to observe and reflect on the function of the place and its significance. It was a moment about identity and how it might mean different things, and at different times, from the personal, local and national perspectives. |
| Description | A promenade performance in Dún Laoghaire Ferry Terminal, created by Ciarán Taylor with Carpet Theatre. It explored themes of departure, return and our complex relations with Britain and featured character movement with a specially devised live score performed on electric guitar, cello, violin and percussion. |
| Mediation | Metro, 11 July, 2008 Irish Times, Ticket listing, 11 July, 2008 Tallaght Voice, 10 July, 2008 Malahide Gazette, 6 July, 2008 Radio coverage on Lyric FM and local television Posters and flyers were distributed throughout the county. |
| Biographies | Ciarán Taylor trained in directing at the University of Kent at Canterbury, and devising at Ecole Jacques Lecoq, Paris. Other devised work for Carpet Theatre includes the site-specific Wexford Fire Station Tour (Wexford County Council commission) which interpreted the new station through movement and music; Two for Dinner for Two (Dublin City Council commission) in collaboration with Concorde Contemporary Music Ensemble, which featured live cooking and toured Ireland, Bulgaria and Romania in 2007; Spellbound / Faoi Gheasa; Wheel a mask play; Hyde and Jekyll, which toured Prague in 2004 as part of the Irish EU Presidency Cultural Programme; Bridie and Violet for the City Arts Centre, and Visiting Hour for Clonmel Hospital and Bronglais Hospital in Wales. He directed Hang Gliding, a double-bill of Welsh plays, Melty Mack by Shane O’Neil, and the first Irish production of A Family Affair. He has also directed for Down to Earth Theatre, Bull Alley College acting course, Galway Youth Theatre, and Limerick Youth Theatre. His acting work includes A Cry from Heaven (Abbey Theatre); Fair City, The Clinic (RTE); Rí Rá, and Ros na Rún (TG4). |
| Commission Type | Local Authority |
| Commissioner Name | Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council |
| Commissioning process | Open Competition |
| Project commission dates | January 4, 2008 - January 7, 2008 |
| Public Presentation dates | November 7, 2008 - December 7, 2008 |
| Artform | Theatre |
| Funded By | Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Co. Council |
| Percent for art | Yes |
| Budget Range | 35000 - 70000 euro |
| Project commission start date | 04/01/2008 |
| Project commission end date | 07/01/2008 |
| Location | Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown |
| County | Dublin |
| Town | Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown |
| Street Address | Marine Road, Dún Laoghaire |
| Google Map Insert | View this projects location |
| Content contributor(s) | Ciara King |
| Relationship to project | Public Art Programme Administrator |
| Public engagement | The artist and performers resided in Dún Laoghaire for five weeks, spent time observing the terminal, and had formal and informal contact with local people in relation to the project. The artist conducted research with port staff and police during multiple site visits. As such they had a part in the creation of a piece which was made for and performed in their workplace. During numerous rehearsals on site (indoors and outdoors) staff, travellers and public on the plaza, and in the café saw work in progress and engaged with the performers and the material. The performances were over-subscribed and attracted a wide audience from Dún Laoghaire and greater Dublin. |
| Associated professionals / Specialists involved | Actors: Bryan Burroughs, Maud Hendrix, Ruth Lehane, Ian Llyod-Anderson, Karl Quinn, Lorna Quinn. |
