IN TODAY’S MINI-INTERVIEW with an ABSOLUT Fringe 2011 figure, we throw five rapid-fire questions at author and performer Manchán Magan.
Magan’s show, Bás Tongue, begins at the Project Arts Theatre tomorrow at 8.30pm and runs every night at that time until Saturday, 24 September.
Manchán Magan, tell us about your ABSOLUT Fringe:
Describe your show to TheJournal.ie’s readers in 20 words:
Bás Tongue is a bilingual war between a lecturer and surtitle operator, featuring linguistic genocide, egomaniacs and the Pepsi challenge
Do you have any special rituals you just have to carry out before a performance/reading/exhibition?
Hunting down endangered, precious words in the Gaeilge-Béarla dictionary and eviscerating them. Slugging coffee.
What’s the best/worst audience reaction you’ve ever had to your work?
My last ABSOLUT Fringe show, much to my surprise, engendered terror among certain audiences; a frigid terror that never relented. Very disconcerting, but a great insight into the power of small-scale theatre.
What/who do you recommend we go see at Absolut Fringe 2011?
All Things Considered It’s a Nice Place to Start – Louise White and Kate Nic Chonaonaigh’s previous Fringe shows have been great. The ‘Revolutionary Texts’ series – readings of classic Irish plays from the late 1980s and early ’90s. Sonya Kelly’s The Wheelchair on my Face – about her ultra-myopic life, directed by Gina Moxley. Sounds delicious!
What has inspired you or made you happy today?
A brief moment in rehearsals this morning when it looked like we were just about getting it together, before everything fell apart again.
