Thursday 23 February 2012
With his boundless enthusiasm and infectious laughter, John Olohan is truly one of the most likeable characters in Irish theatre. Here, he chats about his early days playing in bands, his time with both the Abbey School and Company, touring with the ITC, juggling his stage work with his Glenroe schedule, the key to a successful marriage between two actors, and his recent acclaimed work with Druid. It’s Episode 16 of the Rise Productions: Irish Theatre Podcast – Enjoy!
Thursday 16 February 2012
A fine actor, and an accomplished singer and dancer, Keith Hana is a performer on the brink of a real breakthrough. Here he talks about his near 15 year relationship with the legendary Billie Barry Stage School, the many world tours with Jury’s Cabaret, his transition into acting and his extensive work on Shakespeare with Second Age, the challenges he faced as a local boy when filming “Stardust” for RTE, and his new role in the hotly anticipated “Alice in Funderland” at the Abbey Theatre. It’s Episode 15 of the Rise Productions: Irish Theatre Podcast – Enjoy!
Thursday 9 February 2012
A true rock star of Irish Theatre, Karl Shiels has done it all. Here he discusses leaving his job as a qualified sparks to follow his dream of being on stage, his journey from being almost kicked out of the Gaiety School of Acting to currently serving on its board, the huge successes of his own company Semper Fi, his extensive working relationship with Mark O’Rowe, and his recent world tour with the renowned Druid Theatre Company, not to mention all his upcoming screen roles for 2012. Hell, we even get in a naked Tadhg Murphy story! It’s Episode 14 of the Rise Productions: Irish Theatre Podcast – Enjoy!
Thursday 2 February 2012
A star who’s just about to go supernova, Adam Fergus has it all going for him. The star of hit TV show “Being Erica” flew in from London to chat to us about his life and career in a refreshingly honest interview. Here he talks about breaking into the business, leaving behind the offer of formal training to take up the leading roles being offered to him, the baptism of fire on his short-lived stint with Druid, working with a who’s who of Irish screen talent, and that big break into North American TV. It’s episode 13 of the Rise Productions: Irish Theatre Podcast – Enjoy!
Thursday 26 January 2012
Three months to the day since taking up the job, we met up with new Artistic Director of Project Arts Centre Cian O’Brien. A producer, administrator, curator, and even performer, Cian’s appointment was met with unanimous approval from the Arts community, with Peter Crawley calling it “as welcome, encouraging and refreshing as it is entirely unsurprising.” Here he discusses his formative years with D.U. Players, his evolution from participant to curator of Rough Magic’s renowned Seeds programme, his early forays into freelance producing, plans and ambitions for his new role at Project, and his ongoing relationship with a certain Mangina Jones. It’s episode 12 of the Rise Productions: Irish Theatre Podcast – Enjoy!
Thursday 19 January 2012
The originator and innovator of site-specific work in Ireland, Jo Mangan is a director of unparalleled vision and ambition. Her company is truly one of Ireland’s most ground-breaking, and her commitment to bringing this work to audiences around the country has been their hallmark for the last decade. Here she discusses her early successes as a director, the birth of The Performance Corporation, her forays into other media, finding fresh responses to recent cuts in funding, and using her current phase of renewal and training as a springboard into what lies ahead. It’s episode 11 of the Rise Productions: Irish Theatre Podcast – Enjoy!
Thursday 12 January 2012
Two thirds of the hottest young theatre company in the country, Grace Dyas and Shane Byrne of THEATREclub (uppercase THEATRE, lowercase club!), are a force of nature. Since their debut at the fringe just over two years ago, they have been insanely prolific, churning out more work than all of their peers combined, and picking up more awards than they can carry. Here they discuss just how influential their time with DYT was in shaping them as theatre makers, chart the evolution of the company from the intimate “Rough” to the epic “2010”, reveal the true extent of their “Manic Ambition,” and give us a sneak peak at their plans for total global domination. It’s episode 10 of the Rise Productions: Irish Theatre Podcast – Enjoy!
Thursday 5 January 2012
Truly one of our nation’s finest performers, there is only one word to describe Cathy Belton – stunning. Here she talks about the lasting impact of her early encounters with Druid Theatre Company while growing up in Galway, her experiences touring Ben Barnes’ production of The Crucible with the National Youth Theatre, taking on some of the most iconic female roles in the Irish canon, and sustaining such a successful career on both stage and screen. It’s episode 9 of the Rise Productions: Irish Theatre Podcast – Enjoy!
Thursday 8 December 2011
One of our most accomplished and charismatic actors, Aidan Kelly has had a truly enviable career path. Here he talks about his early years in youth theatre, his brief stint on Fair City, taking Eugene O’Brien’s iconic “Eden” from the stage to the screen, being put on contract as an “Abbey Player,” his ongoing relationship with writer Mark O’Rowe, and his recent nine month season with the RSC. It’s episode 8 of the Rise Productions: Irish Theatre Podcast – Enjoy!
Thursday 22 December 2011
Without question the most influential designer of his generation, Paul Keogan has left an indellible mark on the aesthetic of Irish theatre around the world. Here he discusses his early inspiration to get into the business, his evolution as both lighting and set designer, his passion for dance and opera, and his remarkable foray into an entirely new genre of theatre with his acclaimed production of “Man of Aran: Re-imagined.” It’s episode 7 and the Christmas special of the Rise Productions: Irish Theatre Podcast –Enjoy!
Thursday 15 December 2011
One of Ireland’s best and busiest actors, Rory Nolan’s career just keeps going from strength to strength. Here he talks about his formative years in UCD’s DramSoc, his ongoing relationships with directors Jimmy Fay and Lynne Parker, and plans for the world tour of Druid’s Murphy Project next year. It’s Episode 6 of the Rise Productions Irish Theatre Podcast – Enjoy!
Thursday 8 December 2011
In just two short years, Chilean actor/director Jose Miguel Jiminez has established The Company as one of the most exciting and talked about forces in Irish theatre, with multiple awards and international tours already under their belts. Here he discusses what brought him to Ireland to begin with, how The Company came about, their success to date including their run at the Abbey Theatre, and what motivates him for the future. It’s the Rise Productions: Irish Theatre Podcast Episode 5 – Enjoy!
Thursday 1 December 2011
We caught up with Portmarnock’s finest Paul Reid, just before he jetted back to London after a week of development work in Kilkenny on his brand new feature film. He talks about how he fell into the business, his early theatre success, the ups and downs of TV stardom from his time on hit RTE series Raw, and his astounding solo performance in Corn Exchange’s triumphant Man of Valour. We even managed to sneak in another naked Tadhg Murphy story. It’s the Rise Productions: Irish Theatre Podcast Episode 4 – Enjoy!
Thursday 24 November 2011
It’s been a fairly meteoric rise for the brilliant Aoife Spillane-Hinks since she arrived on these shores from the United States, from Rough Magic’s Seeds programme, to the Gate Theatre, to forming her own company with actress Maeve Fitzgerald, to returning home to Rough Magic to direct their smash-hit “Plaza Suite.” She discusses her time at Harvard, how she established herself so quickly as one of our most exciting directors, the role of women in Irish theatre, and forthcoming plans for a Shakespeare mini-festival.
Thursday 17 November 2011
A man who seems to be single-handedly taking over Irish theatre of late, we caught up with the brilliant Philly McMahon of the all-conquering THISISPOPBABY, to talk about his early days in DYT, his wide-ranging career to date as an actor, writer, director and producer, and his hotly anticipated new musical at the Abbey Theatre, Alice in Funderland. It’s Episode 2 of Rise Productions: Irish Theatre Podcast – Enjoy!
Thursday 10 November 2011
Widely regarded as the nicest man in Irish theatre, we caught up with the ever-smiling Peter Daly to chat about breaking into the business, leaving behind a lucrative accountancy career, his ongoing relationship with Rough Magic, his campaigning for NCFA, and getting naked with Tadhg Murphy. Episode 1 of the Rise Productions podcast is now online, Enjoy!