logo
THEATRE

As well as film and television we are also a theatre production company. Award winning plays on driving issues from human suffering to human angst, drama, experiment and comedy.


THE TENDER MERCIES
tm1
A story delving into the depths of human pain and cruelty, we see the effects of war, genocide, and man's inhumanity to man. Mind games, fear, hope, and insanely twisted truth. Set in the prison of an unknown place, but with the reference of any place where humans clash in conflict, we follow three characters representing the different sides of life when hatred rules, and insanity takes control. Opened to great reviews.

Performed during September and October 2003 at the Crypt Arts Centre, during the Dublin Fringe Theatre Festival.


Irish Times Review of TM by Anne Carey
In a stark prison cell, a young man is being forced to denounce everything he’s ever loved. Alex is a prisoner of the forces which are occupying his (unnamed) native country, forces from a country ruled by a Stalinesque figure known as the noble Kommandant.
tm2



The Tender Mercies is an unflinching look at the ways in which war robs everybody of their humanity – from the prisoners to the soldiers who captured them. The three cast members are all excellent, although David McCorry is best when playing the interrogator Zig as a cringing buffoon...


tm3



Jimi Mckillop brings a quiet dignity to the role of the imprisoned Alex, and Andrea Murphy is magnificently sinister as the soldier who represents the brutal ruling regime. Produced and Directed by Simon Hudson.


Four Stars ****




tm4 NOT THE SAME
A past a time we wrote
A must,
A view,
A new truth to be told
In blindness,
Mindless of our pain and sadness
Watchful of our vain gladness
Leading ever into insane madness.
Strike a blow be sure of it's meaning
Your fault for not gleaning the wickedness.

drm1 Within the lies within you still seedling
Germinating,
Growing,
A damned kindling
Bursting forth to strike pain at your needing
I fear to pray for your forgiveness
For you are beyond redeeming
For you and your kind
I have no feeling
I consign you to darkness,
Reeling.
You are not the same.
Si Vander 1993

‘What marks Vujovic’s drama out is the fascinating way it demonstrates how language can become
an effective weapon of war.’ The Guardian

‘This new play in English, by the Montenegrin writer Sladjana Vujovic, must rank as one of the most powerful in recent years.’ The Scotsman


THE DRESS


dress1

"The Dress is a little gem in a star studded programme."


dress2dress4dress3
‘The Dress’ hilariously depicts three very different women in a struggle to come to terms with their body image, by comically exploring ideas of beauty, sexiness, love and respect. Three intercutting but disconnected stories feature a young beauty queen resisting the ambitions of her overbearing contest-obsessed mother, a butch lesbian and her straying lover who yearns for a more feminine sort of woman (or maybe two), and a middle-aged party animal who makes a spectacle of herself at her daughter’s wedding from fear of looking her age. All wearing the same sexy dress for very different reasons, and living in three different countries, their stories enlighten us to the truth behind ‘looking beautiful’ with laugh-a-minute insights into human character and relationships.

The show played to packed houses at the Teachers club in May 2007 as part of the Dublin Gay Theatre Festival.

dress5
Review
The Dress presented by Stoney Road Films, Ireland, is written by Teresa Hudson and is a delightful snapshot of three very diverse lives all explored through the same dress. From its well directed opening sequence, we instantly relate to Bride and estranged alcoholic mother, Teen Beauty queen and her neurotic mother and exploited Butch Dyke and her manipulative lover. What a combination and what competent and insightful portrayals.

These three distinct tales are cleverly woven together in a plot that explores self image, competition, ambition, love, jealousy in a manner to appeal and to challenge all audience members gay, straight, men or women and all should see this…as it reaches way beyond the labelling and into situations anyone may find themselves in – doing things to make others happy or unhappy, passing youth, lost opportunity, recreating the dream. In all this, Teresa Hudson brings humour, short, well edited scenes, and an empathy that accelerates our ability to relate to these emotionally challenged characters.

Teen beauty queen Aoife Baker well suited the role and displayed flashes of the fire and passion of a young girl torn between the ambition of her mother and the need to choose her own role in life. The playing here between Ciara McGuiness’ Linda and Aoife Baker’s Sara was well on a par with Baker’s more seasoned colleagues.

The mother/daughter relationship culminates on the day Katie, the straight laced daughter gets married – determined (for a reason revealed later) to outshine her daughter, Jean comes to terms with her own swinging existence and the path chosen by her daughter and estranged husband and his fiancée. The comedy moments are laced with a performance of depth and pathos by Sharon Coade as Jean and well contrasted by Celine Mullins as her daughter Sara.


dress6 The lesbian couple scenario is another excellent contrast to this trilogy. Yvonne Usher triumphs in the role as Belinda the butch dyke who tries to feminise herself through the dress to please her one dimensional lover – bitchily played by Sinead Monaghan. Melissa is ‘the taker’ and after two year’s Belinda finally sees the light and asserts her own identity…to good effect throughout.

The subplots are clever and well thought out. The writing is crisp, sharp, humourous and insightful and the hour flies by. The audience leaves with a strong sense of the people we have met and possibly the mutual experiences we have shared. Teresa Hudson has quite an achievement for a one act play – the all female cast expertly directed by Simon Hudson, with a strong sense of design to add to the achievement. The Dress is a little gem in a star studded programme.
Gordon Farrell 10 May 2007

dress7

We have also collaborated with various companies and organisations such as Nervous System and Operating theatre on theatrical and multi-media projects, please see multi-media section for more details.

dress8

Top