by Rose Rushe
THREE years in the making and as many eventful years on the road were unforeseen for ‘Silent’, the one man play by Pat Kinevane that took festival awards at Edinburgh and Brighton. ‘Silent’ comes to Lime Tree Theatre for Tuesday 17 on foot of European and American tours; it first presented in Limerick for 2012s unFringed.
Fishamble: the New Play Company is producer. ‘Silent’ is the world of Homeless McGoldrig who tells his stories by way of the silent silver screen, inspired by Valentino and matinée icons of romance and valour.
“We are kind of blown away by the success,” admits a throaty Kinevane to Arts page, the morning after another night on. “I had worked with director Jim Culleton for two and a half years, putting it together and bringing on Denis Clohessy to compose a soundscape for the entire piece. We wanted ‘Silent’ to be the best it could possibly be and it really helped the whole process not to be under time pressure”.
When prompted, Kinevane notes it is “remarkable how resonant the work is with people with respect to mental health and homelessness, each on the rise. Homeless McGoldrig is not your typical homeless person, his [back]story is specifically different – born and raised in Cobh, all fine until something that is horrible happens to his brother that affects Homeless profoundly”.
The spiral from his marriage and child begins; alcohol addiction is a destroyer; hospitals and services do not save the tender hearted McGoldrig.
The actor/writer speaks of a work that is “purposely physical”, McGoldrig’s own mirrored ballroom of romance being conduit for expression. Again, Pat Kinevane underlines the uniqueness of every person on the street; this is his silent hero’s touchstone with humanity.
