Two unusual events in the theatre world this week, and neither of them contain the word "pantomime" (oh yes they do, oh no they don't, etc etc). The first was on Monday night when a play written and directed by Alex Sutherland, husband of the British ambassador, Veronica Sutherland, opened in the James Joyce Centre. Entitled Chaucer's Chance, it is a compilation of newly-translated extracts from the work of Geoffrey Chaucer as well as a chance meeting in heaven between GC and our own James Joyce.
This involvement in matters thespian isn't solely the result of Alex's move to this drama-sodden country, as he has been very involved in amateur drama for many years. For her part, the ambassador took time out of her official schedule and came along to support him - not only on the first night but for the second night too.
The other theatrical landmark of the week was Suzie Kennedy's last production as director of TEAM theatre on Tuesday. After over 20 years involvement with the company - five of them as artistic director - Suzie finally closed the door with a production of Dutch writer Ad de Bont's Mirad, A Boy From Bosnia, in the Andrew's Lane Studio. It was, Suzie admitted, "an emotional time" as she passed the directorship on to actor Martin Murphy. The day after opening night Suzie headed off on a five-month tour of Thailand, India and the Far East where she plans to study drama and yoga. After this chill-out period, the diminutive director is US-bound, in order to take up a post as assistant director to Joe Dowling at the prestigious Guthrie Centre in Minneapolis.