Missing Live theatre
Live performances have taken a huge hit during these unprecedented times and particularly in more rural places or areas with a smaller population, the impact of the Arts industry has almost disappeared; and thus, community spirit and morale is down. I have chosen to base my interpretation at the Seamus Heaney Homeplace in Bellaghy, Co. Derry, Northern Ireland; a museum and community centre dedicated to the world acclaimed poet, born and raised in Northern Ireland. Opened in 2016, Homeplace has become a colourful and culture rich part of the community, providing opportunities for the surrounding rural communities to learn more about Heaney, provide exhibition and conference spaces and attract schools for day trips. Unfortunately as with most of the Arts and Culture industry, many of these opportunities have been lost as the Homeplace functions mainly as an indoor venue. It is this reason that I have chosen to set my intervention here, in the outdoor space surrounding the centre.
Heaney's poetry is taught widely among schools in Northern Ireland, to almost every secondary school child, yet from my own personal experience, I know that young people are not always fully engaged in the works as the themes usually depict the mundane way of rural life or vast descriptions of Irish landscapes; topics which don't often engage the modern teenager as they cannot visualise these settings within their idea of contemporary living. It is with age that I have grown a true appreciation for the works of poetry by Heaney and I want to extend this appreciation to the younger generations.
I have decided to create a socially distanced and visually stimulating, immersive alternative to the traditional poetry reading. I will design six costumes, each inspired by a different work from Heaney’s first major anthology “Death of a Naturalist”, which will serve as a visual representation of each poem, in order to attract a younger audience who otherwise may find it difficult to understand or engage with the imagery and language within the poems. Each performer will be dispersed around the performance space, each in their own designated sections and will stay there for the duration of the performance until it is the reading of their corresponding poem. As a speaker recites a poem, the performer will leave their space and move around the performance space; whether this is through dance or choreographed movement will be decided based on the narrative of the character itself. The space will be designed to allow for social distancing yet also feeling immersive. To do this I will work with projection and lighting to create visceral settings for each performance and to enhance the space and narrative.
The message in many of Heaney’s works is to learn to appreciate the natural world around us and live simply. To bring this message forward to a contemporary, technology filled world, I will work mainly in recycled and unusual materials, to allow a younger audience to see how their contribution to living sustainably in the modern age can make a difference and visualise the amount of unnecessary waste we produce as a population; together creating an immersive and visually stimulating world for the younger generations to engage and interact with Heaney’s wonderful works.