Wonderland Theatre ©2003-2009
Let's Do The Show Right Here -
Drama without frontiers


by Michael Moffat

I think of them as the Lone Rangers of the theatre world - a small number of individuals, determined to spread the range and accessibility of theatre in unconventional settings despite the poorly-paid effort that goes into it.

Two years after Abbey actor Karl Sheils had to close his TheatreUpstairs. He's all set to open up again, on July 4, round the corner from the Abbey, over Lanigan's pub on Eden Quay, with a new play by Jimmy Murphy. "We're situated" says Karl, "between The Samaritans and The Comedy Lounge, so if you're depressed or get fed up laughing, you can come in to us." The new venue is more attractive, with a Green Room gallery for art exhibitions.

A little further down the Liffey, starting near the Ha'penny Bridge, the tirelessly inventive site-specific specialist Alice Coghlan and her Wonderland Company, will soon be launching her latest venture, Sylvia's Quest, using highly innovative audience radio technology. Meanwhile, her walk-round production using dramatised recordings of Joyce's Dubliners is still going strong.

And over by the seafront in Clontarf, a few miles past Fairview, Laura Dowdall has been successfully presenting shows during the past year in her newly set-up Viking Theatre, above Connolly's pub, The Sheds. The different approach to publicity reflects the nature of the two small theatres. "I've just sent notification out to 2241 people by pressing a button" says Karl, "and I'm already looking at two hundred and something-odd replies." The Viking had no previous fan base, so Laura Dowdall and her fellow-enthusiast, Andy Murray, had to rely on older methods. "We got 10,000 fliers printed with our programme on it. Getting the programme together was a bit of a wing and a prayer, and we just walked round Clontarf and environs and put them in all the doors."

Laura says they're paying the bills at present, which fortunately are not great, and the pub is happy with the business they're bringing in. "We didn't have much at the beginning, and we borrowed a lot of things that are still on loan. The New Theatre has given us some of their old seats. People have been great at things like that." There's an excellent website and video, (viking theatre@the sheds) but Laura tells me they've improved the layout a lot since it was made. Karl had no Arts handouts either. "We ran a fundraiser recently with 14 different acts. The money will go into the productions, and we got some donations." Depending on the show, they can seat an audience of 50-70. It's roughly the same at the Viking.

During the past five years, the young director Alice Coghlan's Wonderland group have done a remarkable number of high quality shoe-string productions. She has used Georgian houses and restaurants to present performances of her translations of French and Italian comedy, Italian opera and dramatisations of Dorian Gray and Gulliver's Travels. In her upcoming show Sylvia's Quest, the character Sylvia will speak to and interact with her audience of 18 using a radio microphone. The audience gets two signals - Sylvia's voice and a fully recorded radio play with interactions.

So what do these small productions and places have to offer? For Karl it's simple: "Opportunity. For new writers, new actors, new directors." And for the audience? "They'll see work they'd possibly never see. You could see the next Jimmy Murphy or the next Tom Murphy."

Laura Dowdall after years of producing had had enough of forking out "seven or eight grand a week" to hire some theatre in town. And the audience? "They aren't the typical audience that go into town with their arms folded and say 'go on, please me'. We've had people in their 40s and 50s come to us saying they'd never been to a play before. And we've done a few late afternoons for the active retired people, who don’t like to come out at night-time."

Alice Coghlan says Wonderland was actually on the point of near bankruptcy before they got the great news about a grant, their first, from The Arts Council and The City Council, for Sylvia. And why does she put herself through all the hassle? "It's just that you have ideas, and you dream so much of making these ideas reality, that anything is worth making it happen."