Fed up jumping through hoops in work?

Tom Lyons

 

A category red warning has been issued for those attending the world premier of Busyness by Kim McCafferty. The show may force you to reconsider your values, reassess your life, quit your job or, at least, buy a hammock.

Billed as the story of four idiots who have forgotten childhood dreams in the pursuit of becoming employee of the month, Busyness is one of the most original artistic endeavours of Culture Night Cavan in a programme that is teaming with originality.
Busyness takes physical theatre to new levels with contemporary circus, dance and comedy created by Kim McCafferty especially for the playground at Con Smith Park. Asking if it is normal to spend a third of your day sitting at a desk staring at a computer screen, Busyness is an antidote to modern office life.
“It is about the glorification of busyness. We live in a world where the best thing anyone can say when asked ‘How are you?’ is to reply: ‘Oh, busy. Thank God!’ We have forgotten how to do nothing,” Kim expounded, saying that it is a ‘site specific’ show.
“It is set in the playground and is presented by four contemporary circus performers and actors; myself and three others. There will be comedy, acrobatics and philosophy. It has been crafted to be staged in the Con Smith Park, or other playgrounds,” the writer, director and performer of the piece said.
Kim has lined up an impressive company to bring her vision to life. They are Ali Stanger a UK based artistic gymnast; Henrik Gard, from Sweden, another gymnast who has toured professionally with many contemporary circus companies in Europe including Fanzini’s, Tumble Circus and created his own show for Dublin Fringe 2015; and Tony Mahon who has been involved in contemporary circus arts in Ireland for 11 years.
 

Cartwheels

Kim’s vocation as a physical artist had a rather challenging birth. Turning cartwheels with the Cavan Gymnastics Club in the 1993 St Patrick’s Day parade in the wake of a donkey hauled float prepared her for the worst that the career could throw at her. There have been other bumps in the road since: “You would want to be flexible; physically, emotionally and financially. It is not impossible [to make a living] if you do corporate events like Google’s Christmas party or walk on stilts in the St Patrick’s Day parade.”
Busyness is a new departure for Kim.
“This is the first time I have made a complete show myself. I have already made numbers and been part of devising shows with other companies. It does feel like I have a bit more freedom to start creating the work and writing. Which is something I am supposed to be doing right now!”
The staging in a playground may give a misleading impression of the target audience. It’s neither influenced nor directed at children:
“It is for very busy business people who may have forgotten how to play. Instead of setting it in a theatre or in a square it’s set outdoor. I had this idea years ago that I would love to create something that was a very adult world - offices and photocopiers and coffee and employee of the month - but set in a children’s world.
“It is an all ages show - it is not specifically for kids and not unsuitable for them either,” she explained.
The show is one of the earliest of the Culture Night programme.
“There will be a small amount of props, but the main props are our bodies. We use acrobatics and physical theatre to tell the story. The idea for this show has been floating around my head for over two years and thanks to the kind support of Catriona O’Reilly and all at Cavan Arts and Culture Ireland I have been able to bring the project to fruition.
“It is brilliant to have something like Culture Night. There is no way I could have staged it without Catriona. I have to pay my fellow performers, I have to pay for rehearsal time, I have to pay their travel. That would haven been impossible without the support.”
 

Incredible feats

So the final pitch for the show is this: “If you like to see incredible feats and to laugh until your belly hurts, then it is very possible you will want to come to my show.
It is something quite new to Cavan. There has not been a lot of contemporary circus and acrobatics happening. Hopefully this is the start of lots more of it,” Kim said to woo audiences to Con Smith Park, Cavan Town from 6.30pm on Friday, September 22.