Sample the dark arts this Halloween Bank Holiday

INSIDE STORY: It’s almost a year since a weekend underpinned by the celebrated ‘Ship of Fools’ and Festival of the Dead tolled a death knell for the Town Hall of old, announcing its rebirth as a vibrant community-led arts centre. Seamus Enright spoke to several of the creative minds behind what has been a busy year, the positive impact the centre has had, and delves into the surreal ahead of this Hallowe’en...

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Like a moth emerging from chrysalis, the Townhall Arts Centre officially opened its doors as if folded wings to an amazed public audience last late October. From a four-day, round-the-clock ‘neon wake’, to luminescent funeral pyres and nightmare jazz parades, locals were taken on a madcap, macabre theatrical roller-coaster that both shocked and delighted in equal measure.
“I think people were surprised more than anything. Pleasantly so. We did what we set out to do, to give this grand ol’ building a reawakening and get people to take notice,” says Joe Keenan, one of the centre’s three creative directors, along with Siobhan Harton and Philip Doherty.
That ‘grand ol building’ to which Joe refers, with its aged iconic sandstone walls dating back to the early 1900s, had stood as a landmark of municipal procedure in the county town for generations, and intermittently as a dancehall, theatre, cinema, meetings venue and bingo hall.
But with recent local government reforms, a new use for the historic building was needed, which is when the local arts collective stepped in. The stuffy administrative offices of yore are now adorned with all manner of stage props and every corner of available space re-appropriated in the pursuit of supporting the arts.
“It’s been a brilliant first year. The fact that we’re making a lot of the work in-house is something quite wonderful. It makes us different from other venues. We’re not so much a touring venue, though we’ve had some brilliant shows come here. But there is a community of artists working here who are dedicated to making things happen right here in Cavan,” muses Philip, a two-time RTÉ PJ O’Connor award-winning playwright.

National attention
Aside from the obvious collective talents on board, what has been defining for those running the centre has been the willingness of the community at large to get involved, often en-masse, to help bring various planned projects through to fruition. It has meant in the past year that not only locals have regarded the centre’s artistic endeavours with eager observation, but nationally too the Townhall has begun to develop an impressive reputation for producing genuinely immersive theatre productions.
Last year’s ‘Ship of Fools’, to be usurped in 2016 by ‘The Paradise of Fools’ saw audience members out-numbered by a ratio of 3:1 compared to volunteers and actors giving of their time.
“That has been one of the huge parts of the whole success of the year is seeing the willingness of people to get involved. People you wouldn’t think, or maybe they themselves never thought about acting or whatever,” Joe tells the Celt.
Philip adds: “I think the ‘Ship of Fools’ was one of those things that brought together brilliant musicians, brilliant musicians, brilliant actors, so it was almost like a total artwork, it was like a live art installation. It certainly opened our eyes to what could be so, so it was really exciting to make something like that, to make the audience the protagonist. It meant the whole po-faced bourgeois element of theatre was gone and instead it was all about play and having fun,” he adds.
“We just didn’t want it to stop,” enthuses Robbie Perry, musical director once again for the upcoming Hallowe’en weekend of Townhall art events.

Four floors of madness
“Last year was amazing. I’d never seen so many performers to be so excited to actually go out there any play, and only for the input of making the show something for themselves and everyone else. It was four floors of madness, but everyone seemed to be part of the one energy. It was made of miracles. It all just seemed to come together.”
This Hallowe’en, the Townhall Arts Centre will once again open its doors, and in its latest phase of evolution once again seeks to open the portal to the other side,” he said.

‘Ritual’
On Friday, October 28 at 8pm, cast and audience will engage in ‘Ritual’, starring Hugh O’Brien from Cootehill, Patrick O’Donnell and singer/ songwriter Annie June Callaghan (Admission €15).
Darkly comic and mysterious, the latest Doherty stage-offering however promises to be more solemn as it draws inspiration from the rich paganistic heritage of the Gaelic festival of Samhain, and develops as a love story between someone from the living and someone from the other world.

‘The Paradise of Fools’
Following that, on Saturday, October 29, the festival will depart the Townhall to a mystery location otherwise known as ‘The Paradise of Fools’ and transport the unwitting and enthusiastic audience members on an immersive theatre performance (Limited tickets €25).

Pageant
The festival weekend then draws to a close on Sunday, October 30 when at 6pm, as dusk sets in, The Great Wheel of Fire street pageant, a parade of fire, music, and dance will pass through the streets of Cavan Town, finishing with a ceremonial ‘burning on the lake’. (Free event, with free make-up at Townhall from 4pm).
“For an audience member to cross the threshold to go into the space, whether its a conventional theatre or a site specific venue, I think theatre has to be an experience,” explains Philip. Otherwise, he notes, the audience is “simply a witness” to something unfolding.
Philip argues too that, in the digital age, with evermore competition for attention, that the traditional arts need to innovate and evolve in order to compete. “Especially now, in the pixilated age when everyone has a screen to their face, I think theatre has to become more alive. With ‘The Ship of Fools’ in particular, there was a amazing two-way thing where it was constant involvement.

Samhain
“Samhain ritual is so paganistic and it’s rich and it’s dark, and it’s got that supernatural feel to it, I think the shows themselves mirror that. I’m really enjoying making theatre at the moment that is very visual, that are visual feasts,” says Philip, referencing the recent Culture Night ‘House Party’, which saw a house party set to classical music. “Ireland is where Hallowe’en originated from. I was at Burning Man before and I was struck with how visual things were and symbolism of the effigy at the centre of it all.”
Joe comments: “You have to say that there is something special about Cavan and the art scene here the last while. Everybody is sharing, there is such a great feeling of giving and coming together. The reason we’re doing this again last year is we had such a great time making it last year, and we’d love for it to grow. Everything has to start somewhere, and the more people who get involved the bigger that energy gets.”
As for measuring immediate success against long term artistic gain, Robbie notes: “That’s really only something that can be properly measure in a few years. When you begin to see younger artists come up and begin to have influence. Right now, what we are doing is leading by example, and showing what can be done.”

Audiences ‘healthy’
The group say are happy that to date audiences to the Town Hall Arts Centre and its various organised events have been “healthy” since the takeover, spanning a wide range of demographics, and they are hopeful this can continue. “It’s something that is rare for theatre outside of larger urban areas, so we’re really happy with that,” says Philip. “We believe that theatre should be for everyone. So there is still lots of work to do, but positive things are happening.”
Throughout the upcoming Hallowe’en weekend, the Townhall Arts Centre will host a range of visually and intellectually stimulating art installations, transforming the perspective of the gallery space. See www.townhallcavan.ie or facebook.com/townhallcavan for more information.