Kilkenny artists in residence embark on exciting new project
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Devious Theatre are artists in residence at the Watergate Theatre
Devious Theatre kicked off their Watergate Theatre residency with the development of The Folklore Commission, a new play by Peter McGann and John Morton, directed by Sarah Baxter – the makers of The Hellfire Squad and The Roaring Banshees, both of which had their first productions in The Watergate Theatre over the last decade.
The Folklore Commission is the third part of a trilogy of Irish alternative history plays centred around Collin’s Twelve Apostles, Cumann na mBán, and the Irish Folklore Commission,
three real world organisations that have rarely, if ever, led their own dedicated dramas before.
The play is set in October 1935 and tells the story of a group of folklorists connected to the newly formed Folklore Commission. The group converge on an abandoned dancehall on the Kilkenny/Tipperary border. Superstition, paranoia and madness overtakes them as they reckon with the faerie lore of the site. So begins the tale of The Folklore Commission…
This year The Folklore Commission was workshopped for the first time in Kilkenny. The writers and director worked on the text with a cast consisting of Roseanna Purcell, Ian
Toner, Pattie Maguire, Ashleigh Dorrell, Aaron Monaghan and Gus McDonagh who brought the words to life and breathed life into the play.
The team will continue the further development of The Folklore Commission for the rest of the year, as it makes its journey towards production.
Keep up to date with all artists in residence news online at watergatetheatre.com.