Dublin Oldschool is a 2014 Irish play written by Irish actor Emmet Kirwan[1] and a 2018 film starring Kirwan, Ian Lloyd Anderson, Seana Kerslake and Sarah Greene based on the play.[2][3][4][5] The film was directed by Dave Tynan.[6]
Plot edit
Jason is a wannabe DJ in Dublin who is addicted to narcotics. He later meets his brother Daniel, an educated heroin addict without a home. The two men reconnect during a weekend. Jason continually runs into his double, who has his phone. He attempts to connect with this seemingly secondary self, but is consistently thwarted in his efforts. At the end of the play, time doubles back on itself, and Jason seems to be reliving the day again.
Play edit
The play premiered in 2014. Both Kirwan and Anderson prefer acting on stage than acting in a film.[7] It won the Best Fringe Performers Award at the Tiger Dublin Fringe Festival. The play was shown at the Project Arts Centre twice.[8][9] The stage version was characterized by a highly physical stage presence, an almost complete lack of set, and the use of lighting to denote changes in space and time.[10]
Paul Taylor, writing for The Independent gave a positive review of its 2017 run at the National Theatre in London saying, "Emmet Kirwan's two-hander, starring himself as Jason, a wannabe DJ and Ian Lloyd Anderson, as his long-lost drug addict brother, is highly charged theatre."[11]
Michael Billington of The Guardian gave a negative review of the same run at the National Theatre saying, "If Kirwan can harness his verbal power, he may yet write a play that offers more than a sensory impression."[12]
Film edit
The film was released on 29 June 2018 in Ireland theatres.[13] The play's writer, Emmet Kirwan, plays the role of Jason and Ian Lloyd Anderson plays the role of Daniel. It is directed by Dave Tynan. The film expands on the two character play with added characters including Sarah Greene as Jason's friend Lisa and Seana Kerslake as Jason's former girlfriend.[14] Kirwan stated he hopes that the film will foster awareness of the homeless and drug addicts.[7] Screen Ireland and Windmill Lane Pictures helped with the production. The film was released on DVD and on demand on 9 November 2018 in Ireland and on 11 November 2018 in the United Kingdom.[15]
Paul Whitington of the Irish Independent gave the film a negative review that states, "Tynan's film is laden down with aimless chatter, and its plot meanders drearily towards a country rave that seems curiously old-fashioned, and feels like a piece of Dublin's past, not its present."[14]
References edit
- ^ Bowie-Sell, Daisy (18 August 2016). "Edinburgh review: Dublin Oldschool". Archived from the original on 19 November 2016 – via Wayback Machine.
- ^ "Emmet Kirwan seriously put it to Ryan Tubridy on the Late Late, and people loved him". DailyEdge.ie. 26 May 2018. Archived from the original on 25 June 2018.
- ^ Shortall, Eithne (24 June 2018). "Acid test: writer and actor Emmet Kirwan's take on drugs culture hits the big screen". The Times.
- ^ Jarlath Regan (16 September 2017). "Ian Lloyd Anderson". An Irishman Abroad (Podcast) (209 ed.). SoundCloud. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
- ^ "Project Arts Centre presents Theatre Dublin Oldschool (2016)". 2016. Archived from the original on 15 January 2016.
- ^ Jarlath Regan (22 June 2018). "Emmet Kirwan And Ian Lloyd Anderson Live FREE". An Irishman Abroad (Podcast) (249 ed.). SoundCloud. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
- ^ a b Fetherston, Sinann (1 December 2018). "Eat, Sleep, Rave, Repeat: Dublin Oldschool returns to the stage". RTE. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
- ^ "Dublin Oldschool (2014)". Project Arts Centre. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
- ^ "Dublin Oldschool". Project Arts Centre. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
- ^ "Dublin Oldschool:Review". Gander Magazine. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
- ^ Taylor, Paul (25 January 2017). "Dublin Old School, National Theatre, London, Review: Emmet Kirwan and Ian Lloyd Anderson play off each other with a brilliant rhythmic rapport". The Independent. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
- ^ Billington, Michael (25 January 2017). "Dublin Oldschool review – DJ's wild weekend is a drug-fuelled odyssey". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
- ^ "Dublin Oldschool Released in Irish Cinemas on 29 June". www.screenireland.ie.
- ^ a b Whitington, Paul (29 June 2018). "Dublin Oldschool movie review: The party's over as play loses much of its magic on the big screen". Irish Independent. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
- ^ "Dublin Oldschool DVD to Release Across Ireland and UK". IFTN. 25 October 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2019.