By Rose Rushe
Photo: Ken Coleman
PROGRESS quickened when the Arts Council responded with a grant of circa €23,000 to a proposal filed by Lime Tree Theatre manager Louise Donlon and Sídhe’s Maeve McGrath to fund HatchLK. Announced last year as a theatre development project to mentor professionals, work began last weekend as those involved got heads together in the context of being led by theatre peers of note.
Emerging works will show in April at 69 O’Connell Street, the venue administered by Lime Tree Theatre, to underline that space’s changing identity as arts resource.
Gill Fenton, marketing manager with the theatre(s), elaborates. HatchLk’s official subtitle is Theatre Artist Development Scheme.
“It’s for political theatre,” she makes clear. “Applications were sought by proposal and the candidates chosen – they are Brendan Maher, Tracy Ryan, Sinéad O’Loughlin, Ann Blake, Conor Cillian Madden and Joanne Ryan. Maeve has links with Theatre UnCut who are UK based and have a huge reputation internationally. The whole idea is to get them to work with local practice”.
Dedicated weekends are put aside in January, February and March to explore ideas, refine script, move characters on, all to emerge for public witness in April, be that as full scale production or not.
For example, Jennifer Moroney-Ward of Limerick Spring festival will conduct one workshop as will Karen Fitzgibbon, who not only teaches drama but develops original work with community groups, backed by Limerick Clare Education and Training Board.
It’s evident that other than Theatre UnCut, all the resources required “are being pulled out of Limerick”. Curator for HatchLK, Maeve McGrath outlined what lies ahead after the first ‘laboratory’ days at No. 69 in January were led by two producers, Emma Callander and Davey Anderson.
“We are one of few schemes such as this in the country and so are very proud of it,” she makes clear. “Something else that is very important is that artists now want to come to Limerick, we have had so many applications for this”.
Theatre UnCut is setting each of the six writers/ and/ or performers the task of developing a 10 minute play about Limerick and political situations here which will platform around Easter time, as well as the writers continuing with their original proposals which hopefully, will develop organically.
“HatchLK is about creating theatre in response to political situations, current or past. We have one that dates back 30 years ago”. McGrath cites the upcoming referendum, water charges and even Fairtrade deals for nursing homes as moot topics that emerged over the incubation weekend just past.
This scheme is as much about Limerick’s identity as cultural leader as well as grooming playwrights-in-the making and trading up on past achievement. The seasonal timeframe for products to emerge is another catalyst. We the public will realise the intensity and best-in-practice influence on gestation with exposure to such new Limerick works.
