We Don’t Know What’s Buried Here by Grace Dyas Civic Theatre Feb 15-17 Axis Ballymun 20th, Bray 22nd
Thursday, February 15, 2018
A new piece about class, value and work
Civic Theatre, 15 – 17 Feb, 8pm / 5pm Fri, €16/€18 or €12 with Discount Code: BURIED at https://www.civictheatre.ie/whats-on/we-dont-know-whats-buried-here/
Axis Ballymun, 20 Feb, 8pm, €12/10.
Mermaid Arts Centre, 22nd Feb, 8pm, €14/€16
The last Magdalene Laundry in Public Ownership is being sold by Dublin City Council to a Japanese Hotel Group. This site was promised to the Magdalene women as a memorial in the Quirke Report. Dublin City Councillor Gary Gannon has called for a halt to the sale because in light of the Tuam babies case: “We Don’t Know What’s Buried Here”. Gary alleges that the sale of the site is the last act of a cover-up by church and state into the torture of The Magdalene women.
Gary’s statement became the inspiration for THEATREclub’s new play, in which two Magdalene women, Tina and Bernadette are digging a hole in a park in the shadow of the Sean McDermott St site. They have heard about Tuam on the radio, and have taken it upon themselves to dig for their babies bones, as they can’t trust the state. The church told them work would purify their souls. They imagine a neon sign on the back wall of their labor camp which reads “Arbeit Macht Frei” and now this is their work; to dig up the whole park, and find out the truth about what happened to them. Were the church their Nazi captors, or where they just saving their souls? Should they listen to people who say it wasn’t really that bad?How can they take control of their future, when they can’t all agree on the past?
The play is written by Grace Dyas who plays Tina, a woman digging to expose the truth; “While I was writing this play, I published a blog post about my experience with Michael Colgan, alleging that his abuse of power was an open secret, which led to many people writing to me about their own open secrets. I became the vehicle for a mass disclosure of abuse of power in Irish Public Life, most of which has to date remained hidden. This experience inspired my character's journey in the play, examining the risks of digging to expose the truth, legal action, and the ruination of one’s good name. So why keep going? Should we keep digging to expose our past? Or in a world where everything public will soon become private, should we just enjoy the few trees we have left? “
Doireann Coady plays Bernadette, a woman digging to find her babies body. Her character was inspired by the women Grace met through her activism with the Dublin Honours Magdalenes campaign and her work with Gary Gannon to highlight the sale of the Laundry.
But unfortunately, Tina and Bernadette, like the Irish people, keep burying everything they find.
From Catherine Corless, a historian who has called for the exhumation of the bodies of all children buried at the mother and baby home in Tuam: “Grace Dyas in her play tackles a present controversial and very emotional subject, i.e. the relentless injustice to the Magdalenes and unwed mothers in Ireland. THEATREclub offers a very powerful evocative piece which brings our very dark past to life".
Directed, designed and composed by Barry John O’Connor (nominated for best director at Irish Times Theatre Awards 2016).
THEATREclub is a Dublin-based theatre collective founded in late 2008. Its members are Gemma Collins, Grace Dyas, Barry O’Connor, Eoin Winning, Shane Byrne, Doireann Coady. They are committed to an egalitarian process of making and collaborate with a broad spectrum of people, from everyday experts to government ministers, from musicians to visual artists. They have produced 18 new works in the last six years (incl. I’m Not Here, NOT AT HOME, The Game, It’s Not Over, The Family, HEROIN, HISTORY, Theatre Machine Turns You On). They have toured nationally and internationally. They are PROJECT ARTISTS, an initiative of Project Arts Centre
Civic Theatre, 15 – 17 Feb, 8pm / 5pm Fri, €16/€18
Axis Ballymun, 20 Feb, 8pm, €12/10.
Mermaid Arts Centre, 22nd Feb, 8pm, €14/€16
Written by Grace Dyas
Directed by Barry John O'Connor
Starring Grace Dyas and Doireann Coady
Designed by Barry John O'Connor & Eoin Winning
Lighting Design by Eoin Winning
Composed by Barry John O'Connor
Costume Design by Gemma Collins
Sound Design Eoin Murphy
Stage Manager Barry O'Donovan
Production Manager Séan Dennehy
Producer/Dramaturg: Joanna Crawley
Associate Project Manager Maria Fleming
Funded through an Arts Council Theatre Project Award,
Commissioned by TreeLine Project
Duration: Approx. 75 mins. No interval.
Booking: http://www.theatreclub.ie/buried-2/
Age Guidance: 13+
Press contact: Joanna Crawley, + 353 864538792
theatreclubbing@gmail.com
Civic Theatre, 15 – 17 Feb, 8pm / 5pm Fri, €16/€18
Axis Ballymun, 20 Feb, 8pm, €12/10.
Mermaid Arts Centre, 22nd Feb, 8pm, €14/€16
Starts: 15 February 2018 20:00
Ends: 22 February 2018 22:30
Location: Civic Theatre - Dublin, Axis Theatre - Ballymun, Mermaid Theatre Bray