It begins smoothly, calmly. Eyebrows are raised as Frank McGuinness appeals for "rage, contempt, chaos, hatred, dissent" at the opening reception of the 53rd ISDA festival and hopes it will be "a rowdy week". Hasn't he heard that students aren't angry anymore? But as the days begin to leak into each other, as the performers work, play and party and the judges get excited and cranky, everything cracks. For many participants this is a week they will never forget; for some it is the beginning of a life's work in theatre.
Adrenaline, caffeine, alcohol, sleep deprivation and sensory overload begin to take their toll as 25 full-length productions - from Shakespeare (Hamlet) to Mark O'Rowe (Howie the Rookie) - presented by the drama societies of 15 universities and colleges are staged over six days. Each day this week, four shows are performed in Players Theatre, UCD Dramsoc, Theatre Space (formerly Project @ the Mint) and the SFX Centre, where there's also a late-night festival Fringe, with live music, comedy and theatre sketches. Each morning, the casts and crews gather in the Samuel Beckett Centre in TCD for a detailed critique of the previous day's shows from the panel of judges, skilfully chaired by Karen Fricker, editor of Irish Theatre Magazine and teaching assistant in UCD Drama Studies department. The other judges are the director of the Dublin Fringe Festival, Ali Curran; actor and director, Terry Byrne; company manager of Rough Magic, Loughlan Deegan; production manager of Loose Canon and reporter with RTE, Willie White; and lecturer in English and drama at UCD, Tony Roche.
The daily panel discussions are central to the festival and are intended to be illuminating and constructive, rather than bruising. For many students, this is their first experience of critical feedback. They are used to the support and applause of their pals and can find it tough to listen to their efforts being dissected and dismembered.
So far, the standard of performances and productions varies hugely. It's clear that there are many students aiming for a career in professional theatre - some of whom are taking a degree in Drama Studies, while others have joined their college drama society simply for a bit of fun. This year there are colleges entering ISDA for the first time - and it shows. In a couple of productions so far there have been alarming levels of sloppiness, especially in stagecraft, and little evidence of the presence of a director. In a few cases, the director is also starring in the show, so the necessary objectivity is lost. The importance of a directorial eye, to impose consistency of vision, attention to detail and overall coherence, is emerging as a theme of the week so far.
"The quality may not be so strong this year," says festival director, Chris O'Dowd from UCD's Dramasoc, which is hosting the festival this year. "But I'm really excited that there are three new colleges participating - it prevents it from being cliquey. This is the way forward. It's the only way people will get experience."
Many of the plays competing are tried and tested, as is generally the case at ISDA: we have Pinter, Albee, Shaffer (two productions of Equus), Friel, Bernard Farrell and John B. Keane, but there are also four original works and some more ambitious and interesting choices, including Howie the Rookie, Les Liaisons Dangereuses and Caryl Churchill's historical, feminist drama, Vinegar Tom.
Set in 17th-century rural England, this is a multi-layered examination of the attitudes towards women that gave rise to witch-hunts, with more than a few echoes of Miller's The Crucible. Dublin University Players' production, which included (too many) specially composed musical interludes, was imaginatively staged, with effective use of lighting and sound, and it was performed with clarity and conviction.
Style and confidence were also displayed by UCC's Dramat in Christopher Hampton's Les Liaisons Dangereuses, though they had to battle with the woefully inadequate acoustics of the SFX. Impeccable 18th-century costumes and furnishings created a glittering surface and, while the two actors playing the arch manipulators, Valmont (Ciaran Fitzpatrick) and Merteuil (Catriona Chambers), lacked the depths of malevolence needed, they held our attention throughout as they drew others into their heartless game.
In the snappy programme notes for UCC's Breathing Water the title is followed by "Cork-Dublin-Edinburgh": the play's slot in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival is secured already. This high-energy ensemble piece, written and directed by Raymond Scannell, delves into an adolescent hall of mirrors: dating rituals, football frenzy, Catholic schooldays, summers at Carson's Cove, the terrors and the yearnings, all filtered through language that moves easily from comedy to lyricism. The four black-clad performers, Cathal Murray, Richard Loring, Aileen Lee and Maeve Kearney, switch character and mood adroitly on a bare stage lit by streaks of blue-green light.
From the school of Cork surrealism, somewhere between Disco Pigs and Under the Goldie Fish, Scannell's play declares its influences while maintaining its individuality. And, Frank McGuinness would be glad to hear, it's rowdy.
Today's performances at ISDA are Rock Bottom Cafe (original) (TCD noon), Brian Friel's Lovers (UCD, 3 p.m.), Every Breath You Take (original), (Space @ Henry Place, 6 p.m.) Peter Schaffer's Equus, (SFX, 8.30 p.m.). Tomorrow's performances are Clare McIntyre's Low Level Panic (TCD, noon), Shakespeare's Hamlet (UCD, 3 p.m.), Owen McCafferty's Freefalling (Space, 6 p.m.), Conor McPherson's This Lime Tree Bower (SFX, 8.30 p.m.).
Saturday's performances are Friel's Philadelphia Here I Come! (TCD, 11.30 a.m.), Mary O'Malley's Once a Catholic (Space, 2 p.m.), and John B. Keane's Moll (SFX, 4.30 p.m.). Contact venues for tickets
A second report on the ISDA festival, including the award-winning productions, will appear on Tuesday.
