"Normal" by Anthony Neilson - Press Info
Press Information: “Normal”
Restless Ecstasy Theatre presents the Dublin premiere of “Normal” By Anthony Neilson
October 25th – November 05th 2016 @ 8pm in Smock Alley Boys School
Directed and Produced by Owen Lindsay. Lighting and Sound design by Bill Woodland.
Cast includes: Shane English as Justus Wehner, Michael O’Flaherty as Peter Kurten, Kamila Dydyna as Frau Kurten/The Doll.
“It looked a harmless enough thing; a glass case which, surrounded by children as it was, I first took for
a sweet-dispenser of some kind. Two of those children were my own, eager to feed it a coin and, God forgive me, I gave them that coin and let the infernal thing be activated.”
“We say killed, we say dead, we recount the atrocities like we would a shopping list and then find excuses, causes, loopholes, technicalities. People live and die by slips of the tongue, but we can still laugh about it over a drink and commend ourselves for our cleverness.”
Anthony Neilson’s visceral psychodrama “Normal” receives its Dublin premiere at the Smock Alley Boys' School theatre in October 2016. Recounting the story of Peter Kurten, the infamous “Vampire of Dusseldorf” through the eyes of his naive, idealistic young defence attorney Justus Wehner, “Normal” is a harrowing thrill-ride through the mind of a maniac; where reality, morality, fact and fantasy blur into an hallucinatory landscape of deranged logic and psychotic impulses.
Credited with initiating the “In-Yer-Face” movement of British playwriting in the 1990’s, “Normal” confronts the dark side of human nature, investigates the degrading effects of privation and family breakdown on contemporary society, and asks us to consider the question: what makes a man into a monster?
Artists
Playwright
Anthony Neilson was born in 1967 in Edinburgh. He began his career at the Finborough Theatre in London, and his work has been performed in major venues across the world. Principle works include Penetrator, The Wonderful World of Dissocia, The Lying Kind, The Séance, God in Ruins, Narrative and the feature film The Debt Collector (1999), which he also directed.
Director
Owen Lindsay was born in Greystones, Co. Wicklow and raised in Auckland, New Zealand by a Dublin mother and Wicklow father. Returning to Ireland in 2005 having completed an BPA (Bachelor of Performing Arts) at Auckland University, he spent several years working and studying in Dublin before undertaking an MA in Classical Acting at the Drama Centre London. Previous credits include Antenora (Restless Ecstasy), the Operas Suor Angelica and La Clemenza di Tito, (Giornata Opera) and fight direction for Julius Caesar (Classic Stage Ireland), Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth and The Tempest
(Cest’ tous Touring Theatre).
Cast
Actor Shane English recently joined the National Youth Theatre of England, where he completed their Epic Stages 2016 training course. Prior to this he spent three years training at the DIT Conservatory of Music & Drama. Last year he graduated with a First Class Hons. BA in Drama Performance. Previous credits include Losing It (Boy’s School, Smock Alley), Vessel (New Theatre, Temple Bar) and William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Screen credits include the independent short film Jessica’s Room (Blasters Media).
Actor Michael O'Flaherty is a Dublin based actor and writer. Appearing in Films such as Dark By Noon and A Belfast Story (both 2013). Recently he appeared at The Duke Theatre as Peter in I Do not like thee Dr Fell,' and works regularly as a voice-over artist and narrator for numerous Irish music and film documentaries. Recent television appearances include Penny Dreadful and Spooky Stakeout.
Actress Kamila Dydyna is an actor, writer, and filmmaker based in Dublin. She trained at The Gaiety School of Acting, The National Theatre School of Ireland. Recent roles include Klara in The Haunted Road, a BBC Radio 4 play, Nel in The Betrayal (a short film) and Constance Markievicz in 16 & Rising, a political theatre project by Sian Ni Mhuiri at the Electric Picnic.
Press Responses to Previous Productions
“Anthony Neilson's troublesome play sets out to investigate unflinchingly the mind of a killer who felt no qualms of any kind and who resolutely refused to be considered insane...Kurten is an articulate tempter whose naïve counsellor simply cannot comprehend his enormities” – Ian Shuttleworth, on the original production at the Finborough Theatre, 1991.
“Anthony Neilson is known for his provocative and controversial works...In exploring the moral questions of good versus evil, Justus Wehner's exposed repression and Frau Kürten's quest for love in disgrace are studies in ambiguous shades of grey.” – Culture NI on Green Rooms production at
Crescent Arts Centre, Belfast, 2011
“See Normal: it will make you think twice about your next blind date.” – MD Theatre Guide on Molotov Theatre Group production in Washington DC, 2014
Performance Details
Performances nightly at 8pm from October 25th to November 05th No Matinee performance.
Ticket Price: €15.00 Standard; €12.00 concession. Special group rate: €8.00 each for groups of 10 or more.
Location: Smock Alley Boys School, 6-7 Lower Exchange Street, Dublin 8.
Book online at smockalley.com/normal or Ph.: 01-6770014
Press night – October 25th, 8pm. Complimentary passes for press and other media available upon request from the company.
Visit: www.restlessxct.com or Email: restlessxtc@mail.com for further information and to request passes.
