Reframing the Politics of Performance at 14 Henrietta Street: ANU's Living the Lockout and Company SJ's Fizzles
2020
Abstract
The recent shift towards site-specific performance in Ireland brings to the fore the role of distance in a theatre culture long structured around the spatial divisions of the proscenium. This essay uses theories of space and haunting to examine the ways in which two Irish theatre companies, ANU Productions and Company SJ, negotiate the ghostly presence of Sean O'Casey's dramaturgy within a former tenement building, Dublin's 14 Henrietta Street.
Through performance analysis, the essay shows how these companies pose afresh questions about Irish history and bring to light the role of distance in the politics of performance.