Abbey Theatre launches their free digital theatre series tonight, featuring Brendan Gleeson, Sinead Burke and Emmet Kirwan

Get the popcorn ready for the Abbey Theatre “Dear Ireland” four-part digital theatre series, which begins tonight.

There are so many ways in which our world has been made smaller since the outbreak of Covid-19, but one significant example is the impact it is having on our already-struggling creative communities. Groups have tried to alleviate this, whether it’s Creatives Against Covid-19 asking illustrators, artists and photographers to donate pieces for posters to raise money for charity, or museums and galleries opening up for digital tours.

Now, we’re about to get a peek inside the Abbey Theatre’s response, as they get set to launch “Dear Ireland” tonight at 7.30pm on YouTube. The digital theatre series will run over four nights and is an innovative collaboration between the national theatre and 100 participating artists.

As an immediate response to the crisis, The Abbey commissioned 50 monologues for Irish creatives around the country and further afield, with each one paired with a performer who has pre-recorded their performance from home.

Acting as a platform for Irish artists to gather during these uncertain times, “Dear Ireland” will include: a piece by Sinead Burke and performed actress Eleanor Walsh, written from the activist’s family home in Co Meath; Brendan Gleeson performing a monologue written for him by Pom Boyd; and a Blindboy-penned script performed by Cathy Belton. Irish artist Maser has also been commissioned to create artwork that will be woven through the performances.

Each playlet will be introduced by the Abbey Theatre’s Visitor Services Manager, Con Doyle, and there will be a three-minute interval between each performance to encourage people to discuss the performance in the live chat.

Starting tonight with the first eleven monologues and running until Friday, each of the four episodes will begin live at 7.30pm on the Abbey Theatre’s YouTube channel and be available to playback for 24 hours. On May 2, the channel will then make all 50 monologues available to the public for six months.

Here is the full list of the writer/performer collaborations:

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
8. John Connors / Graham Earley
9. Kit de Waal / Peter Gowen
10. Shaun Dunne / Eva-Jane Gaffney
11. Iseult Golden / Marion O’Dwyer
12. Stacey Gregg / Conor MacNeill
13. Sarah Hanly / Denise Gough
14. Nancy Harris / Marty Rea
15. David Ireland / Abigail McGibbon
16. Colm Keegan / Owen Roe
17. Sonya Kelly / Deirdre Donnelly
18. Deirdre Kinahan / Bríd Ní Neachtain
19. Emmet Kirwan / Emmet Kirwan featuring Mike Donnelly
20. Darach Mac Con Iomaire / Eoin O Dubhghaill
21. Manchán Magan / Bríd Criomhthain
22. Aoife Martyn / Norma Sheahan
23. Owen McCafferty / Patrick O’Kane
24. Rosaleen McDonagh / Sorcha Fox
25. Frank McGuinness / Joan Sheehy
26. Meadhbh McHugh (New York) / Clare O’Malley
27. Una McKevitt / Katherine Lynch
28. Phillip McMahon / Caoilfhionn Dunne
29. Andrea Molino (Italy) / David Moss
30. Gina Moxley / Timmy Creed
31. Jimmy Murphy / Clare Dunne
32. Zoe Ní Riordáin / Seána Kerslake
33. Edna O’Brien / Stanley Townsend
34. Eva O’Connor / Amy McAllister
35. Joseph O’Connor / Kathy Rose O’Brien
36. John O’Donovan / Nicola Coughlan
37. Mark O’Halloran / Andrew Bennett
38. Jody O’Neill / Marie Mullen
39. Shane O’Reilly / Amanda Coogan
40. Felicia ‘Felispeaks’ Olusanya / Deirdre Molloy
41. Margaret Perry / Breffni Holahan
42. Ursula Rani Sarma / Owen McDonnell
43. Arthur Riordan / Rory Nolan
44. Ciara Elizabeth Smyth / Camille Lucy Ross
45. Abbie Spallen / Jolene O’Hara
46. Keith James Walker / Ashleigh Dorrell
47. Enda Walsh / Zara Devlin
48. Michael West / Mark Doherty
49. Carmel Winters / Lucianne McEvoy
50. Zhu Yi (China) / Julia Gu

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