iblog

Donnacha: One of the more fascinating plays i've seen at this year's Edinburgh Festival has been a double bill of Brechtian Opera. For two nights only the Opera National de Lyon performed two of Brecht's shorter works, "The Lindbergh Flight" and "The Seven Deadly Sins." The production was sumptuous with exquisite singing and vivacious, original dance numbers from the eponymous Sins. At the end of the night i was left with a feeling i had seen something particularly unusual but i couldn't quite work out what. The it struck me- the plays were political, overtly political. It came as a shock to me but you don't get that much these days. "The Lindbergh Flight" explored the nature of a hero in industrial society and the mastery of nature by man's mechanical inventions. "Seven Deadly Sins" laid bare the corrupting influence of rampant capitalism and greed. I suspect that, if Brecht was writing today he would find it difficult to get staged. We are told political theatre is resurgent but i'm convinced critics would dismiss his works as pure propaganda and consign them to the dustbin of history. On the Royal Mile here there are no shortage of costumed American marines, Afghan fighters or bandaged Iraqis but they are all in "docuplays". There is a lack of original, fictional, political drama in our theatre culture today. Where it is tolerated it has had to adopt the look, feel and some of the rigours of documentary. The Tricycle theatre's Tribunal Plays (Nuremberg Trials, Colour of Justice, Bloody Sunday etc.) refuse to create any original dialogue while plays like David Hare's recent "The Permanent Way" or "Stuff Happens" rely on original documents or interviews for their legitimacy. As it is Brecht is safe because luscious revivals are "heritage" not "agitprop." It wasn't long ago theatres were full of the intensley political, epic dramas of Brenton, Hare and Bond. Even the early 90s were full of "In Yer Face" political theatre from Sarah Kane or Mark Ravenhill. Plays based on real life and documented history are an important, informative and entertaining part of our theatrical culture but we shouldn't underestimate the political power of fiction.

Donnacha: In the last week people have been poking through poorly frequented bookshelves and dusting off their old Penguins as Literary Classics have been thrust back in the spotlight. It began when schools Minister Alan Johnson announced that there would be no "dumbing down" of school English curricula. The outcome of an edcation department review has guaranteed the likes of Austen and Shakespeare a place in the nation's classrooms. The announcement was not met with unanimous enthusiasm. Notably Steven Moss, writing in Tuesday's Guardian, wondered at the wisdom of "instructing" teenagers to read the likes of Henry James' "The Ambassadors." He argued that Dickens or Trollope should be left to one's mid-50s and that children would be better analysing chick lit or Harry Potter. Isn't this rather missing the point of a "classic" work of literature? Of course teenagers won't experience the full, multi-layered impact of Hamlet, or John Donne or Toni Morrison on first reading. Then again neither will a 25 year old, or a 35 year old or a 65 year old. Classics are classics because they bear re-reading over a lifetime. We get something from them in youth and, when we are older, we get something new from them- not least because of the experiences we bring to them. Surely we shouldn't deny students the opportunity to begin a relationship with great literature which will stand with them for their whole lives?

Donnacha: It's been an absolutely hectic two days. In a complete change from lounging in sleepy Belfast i've parachuted into the middle of the largest theatre festival in the world, armed only with a Press Pass, a badly photocopied script and a strange desire to be a light/sound operator. 24 hours to read the script, find all the props, set up the theatre and get through the first performance- a doddle, surely? Well, the first performance finished less than an hour ago and it certainly wasn't a doddle but it did go well. The company performed "Paper Flowers" by Egon Wolff, a Chilean playwright, flawlessly. The acting was intense, the props existed, we had a real living, breathing audience. Add to that the fact that i didn't cast the stage into darkness once and i think we can be pretty proud of ourselves. Maybe it's the sleep deprivation talking but, right now, i think i could do this another fifteen times before the end of the month. It's the Edinburgh way.