The Seafarer Opening

5 Questions with Narelle Sissons, Set Designer for The Seafarer

1. Were there any specific images or moments in the text that served as a spark for your design approach?

The entire play is extraordinarily rich with imagery, so I would say that the entire play conjoured the world that we see onstage. There is a paragraph that Lockhart delivers about hell, he describes being enclosed in a box and dropped into the ocean and being buried alive at the bottom in murky darkness, this image held our attention and ended up shaping the room/box in which the play takes place.

2. How did conversations with director Tracy Brigden change or affirm your ideas about the play?

Tracy is great to work with, she’s open to discussion about the play and keen to work in a more conceptual rather than just working out the needs of the room sort of way. She even sent me an image of a sink hole that sparked conversation about how the box/room mentioned above could appear to sink into the ground…this has resulted in a sideways raked floor that makes the room feel like it has a ‘flat tire’, or rather a place where sinking into the abyss has already started, it’s been great fun planning this production and figuring out how to tell the story with Tracy and the team.

3. What about with other designers? Can you tell us a bit about the collaborative process on this project?

Great process, many meetings all together. The ceiling has been discussed with Andy (Lighting Designer) because we’ve needed to make allowances in order for him to light the room. Also general design meetings to talk about the overall ideas for the production have been often and great. I need to mention the scene shop here too because this has been and continues to be a delightful experience in all departments, I feel wonderfully supported.

4. Did your upbringing in Britain inform your approach to the design?

Hummm…this is a hard one since I’ve been here so long and feel like an American…although the accent gives me away.. I would say that the approach to theatre in the UK focuses on ideas building even when faced with a so called realistic play, so my instincts are to look for images and ideas that support the bigger issues of the text. I’m actually half Irish and love a good story, so perhaps this is the best connection, oh, and all British people worry about falling into a sink hole so maybe that counts too..!

5. The play has interesting themes of chance, fate and redemption – what about the story appeals to you?

I believe that fate is real, I believe in karma and believe in consequences. Redemption is something that we seek when things are not going too well, so maybe we are redeemed by practicing good karma.. ? I like the idea that these questions are discussed by the playwright when the odds are stacked against the characters, the tension in these questions is heightened…will they be redeemed, will they get a second chance, the question is potent.

Posted by Christine Pini, Artistic Assistant

The Seafarer Sets Sail…

Ireland came to the rehearsal room of City Theatre last week — or more specifically the hard-drinking inhabitants of Baldoyle, an outlying suburb of Dublin on the coast of Dublin Bay.  The cast is a mix of old friends and new arriving from Chicago, NYC, Princeton, and just around the corner here in the South Side.

We have a tradition on the first day of rehearsal of the entire staff (from the actors, designers, and director to the carpenters, painters, and administrative staff) gathering in the rehearsal room to say “hello” and kick off the process.  Artistic Director Tracy Brigden then typically asks a question inspired by the play.  For The Seafarer, where the action of the play takes place on Christmas Eve and with Christmas four days prior to the first rehearsal, she asked us to everyone to share a favorite moment from the holidays.  Family and drink seemed to be the common themes, drink as celebratory accelerant and sometimes taken medicinally.  The laughter and commiseration got us off to a splendid first day of rehearsal.

The Cast includes:

CHRISTOPHER DONAHUE(James “Sharky” Harkin) recently appeared in Heartbreak House with the Two River Theater. He has been involved with many other theatres including the Manhattan Theatre Club, Public Theatre, McCarter Theatre, Hartford Stage, and Yale Rep.

NOBLE SHROPSHIRE(Richard Harkin) Broadway work includes: The Drowsy Chaperone; Royal National Theatre’s premiere of Not About Nightingales; and Candida at Roundbout. Other experience includes film and TV credits and work at theatres like Actors Theatre of Louisville, Arena Stage, and Westport Country Playhouse.

MARTIN GILES(Ivan Curry) has been seen at City Theatre in Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, The Santaland Diaries, and Fuddy Meers, among others. He was most recently seen elsewhere in The Synge Cycle for Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theater.

SAM REDFORD(Nicky Giblin) recently appeared in Mother Teresa is Dead at City Theatre.  He has varied theatrical, film and TV credits and also performs regularly with Mind The Gap Theatre Company in New York City.

MARK ULRICH(Mr. Lockhart) resides in Chicago, where he appeared in Mariela In The Desert at The Goodman Theatre, The Gamester at Northlight, and Juno And The Paycock at The Artistic Home.  He is a company member of Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, and a member of Chicago Dramatists.

 

 Posted by Stuart Carden, Associate Artistic Director and Christine Pini, Artistic Assistant

The Seafarer: Past Productions

The Seafarer was first performed in September 2006 at London’s National Theatre, where it gained an Olivier Award nomination for Best Play.  The playwright, Conor McPherson, directed the world premiere production with the following cast:

 

Mr. Lockhart: Ron Cook

Ivan: Conleth Hill

Sharky: Karl Johnson

N icky: Michael McElhatton

Richard: Jim Norton

 

The play then ran on Broadway from December 2007 to March 2008 at the Booth Theatre.  It was again directed by the playwright, and was nominated for four Tony Awards including one for Best Play.  The cast was as follows:

 

M r. Lockhart: Ciarán Hinds

Ivan: Conleth Hill

Sharky: David Morse

Nicky: Sean Mahon

Richard: Jim Norton

 

Posted by Christine Pini, Artistic Assistant

Upcoming: The Seafarer by Conor McPherson

“Quite possibly the finest playwright of his generation..” NYTimes

 

About the writer: 

Conor McPherson is an Irish playwright, director, and screenwriter.  He was born August 6, 1971 in Dublin and attended University College Dublin, where he began writing plays as a member of the dramatic society.  He went on to found the Fly by Night Theatre Company, which produced some of his early plays.  His work has since gone on to be produced internationally, notably in the West End and on Broadway.  Other works include This Lime Tree Bower, The Weir, Dublin Carol, Port Authority, and Shining City.  He has won or been nominated for numerous awards, among them Olivier, Evening Standard, Critic’s Circle, and Tony Awards.

 

“As in earlier plays like The Weir and Shining City, Mr. McPherson is considering the impenetrable, scary mystery that is being alive and the blundering ways that poor humans deal with it. The Seafarer portrays the forms of amnesia and anesthesia that allow people to wake up with themselves.”  from the NYTimes

 

Posted by Christine Pini, Artistic Assistant

The Seafarer @ the 2008 Tony Awards

Conor McPherson

Irish playwright Conor McPherson had two  impressively crafted productions in NYC this past year including PORT AUTHORITY and the Tony nominated THE SEAFARER.  Both plays were critically lauded and THE SEAFARER had an healthy showing at the 2008 Tony Awards. 

Jim Norton

In addition to being nominated for Best Play, two actors,  Conleth Hill and Jim Norton were nominated for Best Featured Actor with Mr. Norton ultimately winning the Tony.  McPherson was also nominated for directing his own work.

For more on the Tony Awards link here:  http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/index.html

Artistic Director Tracy Brigden has had a passion for the play since she first saw it in London in 2006.  And after persistent door knocking City has gained one of the earliest Regional productions since the Broadway run closed earlier this year.

For the NYTimes review of the Broadway production link here:

http://theater2.nytimes.com/2007/12/07/theater/reviews/07seaf.html