Momentous digital theatre project, which brings together the voices of 50 writers and 50 actors, premieres in four parts on YouTube Live from Tuesday 28 April to Friday 1 May 2020.
Over four nights (28 April – 1 May), audiences throughout Ireland and across the globe can watch the world premiere of Dear Ireland – a historic digital theatre project that brings together 50 brand new monologues, commissioned by the Abbey Theatre as a rapid response to the COVID-19 crisis. Each piece of work was written and created in self isolation by 100 participating artists.
Dear Ireland is a platform for the Irish theatre community to gather, as a choir of voices and ideas, and share in this historical moment through the creation of art. The project is an experimental first for both the Abbey Theatre and many of the artists involved, in the producing and presenting of theatre through digital channels whilst the ongoing pandemic keeps theatre makers and audiences from the stage.
Graham McLaren and Neil Murray, Directors of the Abbey Theatre said:
‘We are proud to present the momentous and urgent calls of 100 artists to the world this week. It was important to us that we commission artists from different backgrounds and people at various stages of career in a way that reflects the diverse Irish society that is united in these trying times. For the participating artists, and indeed many of our own team at the Abbey, this was a new and unfamiliar way to make theatre – combined with the challenge of creating new art in the extreme circumstances the current pandemic has brought.
Despite the extraordinary hurdles faced by these theatre makers, a poignant, angry, often funny, sometimes absurd portrait of Ireland has emerged, capturing this unique moment in our history.’
The writer/performer collaborations for each monologue are as follows:
1. Blindboy / Cathy Belton
2. Dermot Bolger / Dawn Bradfield
3. Pom Boyd / Brendan Gleeson
4. Sinéad Burke / Eleanor Walsh
5. TKB (Thommas Kane Byrne) / Ericka Roe
6. Dylan Coburn Gray / Leah Minto
7. Karen Cogan / Siobhán McSweeney
John Connors
In isolation in my campsite in Coolock.
TKB (Thommas Kane Byrne)
I’m being a responsible member of society by STAYING in my family home in the North Inner City.
Jody O’Neill
I’m at home, in Bray, Co. Wicklow, homeschooling in the mornings, and on a continuing mission to find the most secluded places for afternoon walks.
Sonya Kelly
I am living in my home in Dublin 8 with my wife and surrounded by wonderful neighbours.
Andrea Molino
Containment in Southern France.
John O’Donovan
I was visiting family in Clare when the lockdown was announced, so rather than travelling back to London, I’ve bunkered down here in a guest room at my in-laws’.
Abbie Spallen
Living and writing in Newry, Co. Down
Dear Ireland comes with a musical score reimagined by award-winning composer Ray Harman, featuring the vocals of Lisa Lambe. Irish artist Maser was also commissioned to respond to the Dear Ireland call and his beautiful artwork will be woven through the visuals in the films.
The 50 pieces have been pre-recorded, and will stream in four parts live on the Abbey’s YouTube channel from 7.30pm Tuesday to Friday, ahead of being made available for a period of six months.
? 28 April – 7.30pm IST: Dear Ireland (Part 1) – 11 monologues – Live and then available for 24 hours
? 29 April – 7.30pm IST: Dear Ireland (Part 2) – 12 monologues – Live and then available for 24 hours
? 30 April – 7.30pm IST: Dear Ireland (Part 4) – 13 monologues – Live and then available for 24 hours
? 1 May – 7.30pm IST: Dear Ireland (Part 5) – 14 monologues – Live and then available for 24 hours
? 2 May – 12pm IST: Dear Ireland (Part 1 to 4) – 50 Monologues – Available for six months
There will be a three minute interval between each monologue, providing the audience time to join the live discussion in YouTube Live Chat. Some of the artists and Abbey Theatre hosts will be participating in the discussion here during these breaks.
Subscribe to the Abbey Theatre’s YouTube channel and tune in at 7.30pm from Tuesday to Friday.
More about Irish Tech News and Business Showcase here
FYI the ROI for you is => Irish Tech News now gets over 1.5 million monthly views, and up to 900k monthly unique visitors, from over 160 countries. We have over 860,000 relevant followers on Twitter on our various accounts & were recently described as Ireland’s leading online tech news site and Ireland’s answer to TechCrunch, so we can offer you a good audience!
Since introducing desktop notifications a short time ago, which notify readers directly in their browser of new articles being published, over 30,000 people have now signed up to receive them ensuring they are instantly kept up to date on all our latest content. Desktop notifications offer a unique method of serving content directly to verified readers and bypass the issue of content getting lost in people’s crowded news feeds.
Drop us a line if you want to be featured, guest post, suggest a possible interview, or just let us know what you would like to see more of in our future articles. We’re always open to new and interesting suggestions for informative and different articles. Contact us, by email, twitter or whatever social media works for you and hopefully we can share your story too and reach our global audience.
Irish Tech News
If you would like to have your company featured in the Irish Tech News Business Showcase, get in contact with us at Simon@IrishTechNews.ie or on Twitter: @SimonCocking
Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment with responsibility for space…
Yoto, the screen-free audio platform for kids and families, has announced the 4th Generation of…
Microsoft Ireland's 2026 Work Trend Index reveals a workforce increasingly focused on future-ready skills, career…
Pure Telecom, the Irish-owned telecoms provider, has announced new research exploring the relationship between social…
With over 40 billion historical records, including 131 million from Ireland alone, MyHeritage.com gives you…
Analysis by Iaroslav Belkin, founder of Belkin Marketing The Clay Mathematics Institute put $1 million…
Irish Tech News are Ireland’s No. 1 Online Tech Publication and often Ireland’s No.1 Tech Podcast too.
You can find hundreds of fantastic previous episodes and subscribe using whatever platform you like via our Anchor.fm page here: https://anchor.fm/irish-tech-news
If you’d like to be featured in an upcoming Podcast email us at Simon@IrishTechNews.ie now to discuss.
Irish Tech News have a range of services available to help promote your business. Why not drop us a line at Info@IrishTechNews.ie now to find out more about how we can help you reach our audience.
You can also find and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.