Author Archives: william

ITG: The London Vertigo 10 and 17 Feb 2016

Auditions for the Irish Theatre Group’s FEATS 2016 entry: Brian Friel’s The London Vertigo will be held on Wednesday 10 & 17 February at 8pm at the Warehouse, 69a rue Waelhem, 1030 Brussels.

The London Vertigo is a hilarious period comedy based on the play The true born Irishman, or, The Irish fine lady by Charles Macklin. We are looking for 2 women (20s-50s) and 3 men (20s-60s) – for more info or any questions send us an email: itg.asbl@gmail.com (synopsis and more details here)

FEATS 2016 runs from 5 – 8 May in Brussels

ITG: Play reading – The Cripple of Inishmaan (15 Mar 2016)

The ITG will host a play reading of Martin McDonagh’s The Cripple of Inishmaan on Tuesday 15th March at 20:00 (doors open from 19:30) at The Warehouse (73 rue de Waelhem, Schaerbeek)

Set on a remote island off the west coast of Ireland in 1934 this strange and comic tale coincides with the arrival of Hollywood director Robert O’Flaherty is on the neighbouring island of Inishmore to film Man of Aran.

You will be familiar with McDonagh’s work…we have previously produced The Beauty Queen of Lenane which is also from his pen.

You are welcome to come along whether you want to read a part yourself or just listen.

ITG: After Friel (11-15 Oct 2016)

 

All Performances SOLD OUT.

If you already have a ticket, but your plans have changed…then do let us know [itg.asbl@gmail.com ].
If you didn’t get your ticket booked in time, some tickets may become available due to cancellations. When tickets become available they will show up here and you will be able to book them here as usual.
If you would like to be added to the waiting list, please send an email to [ itg.asbl@gmail.com ] let us know which performance(s) you are available to attend and provide a phone number to be contacted at short notice.

 

 

The ITG is bringing you two of Brian Friel’s one-act plays; very different in their content, style and approach but clearly from the pen of the same writer. Demonstrating Friel’s recurring interest in how we try to reinvent ourselves and the convenient lies we tell to the world around us.
One ‘after Chekhov’, the other ‘after Macklin’ and now sadly, one year on from his death, ‘After Friel’.

The London Vertigo, an 18th century farce by Charles Macklin, but now stripped down to its hilarious essentials, and ‘Afterplay’, an extension to the lives of two characters from two different Chekhov plays who meet 20 years after their dramatic embodiments left the stage.

The London Vertigo was our entry to FEATS 2016 where it picked up three awards: Best Production, Best Stage Presentation, and Best Actor

 

From Tuesday 11th to Saturday 15th October at 20:00

The Warehouse Studio Theatre

Tickets €16

Buy tickets now

ITG: The Cripple of Inishmaan (7-11 & 16-17 Feb 2017)

The Cripple of Inishmaan will be directed by Noreen Doyle, and performed in the Warehouse Studio Theatre from Tue 7 –  Sat 11 and Thur 16-Fri 17 February [Sold Out]

The Cripple of Inishmaan by Martin McDonagh, set on a remote island off the west coast of Ireland in 1934, is a dark comedy. Inspired by a real event – the filming of The Man of Aran on Inishmore in 1934 – the story follows the impact of the news of the filming on young Cripple Billy and the other inhabitants of Inishmaan. Could this be their escape from life on Inishmaan where the tedium is broken only by the gossip and stories put about by Johnnypateenmike?

Cruel, sad, sometimes violent, yet achingly funny, the story reveals the characters in a way that makes you realise that people are not always as they seem.

For Tickets (€15) Put your name on the waiting list. Send email to itg.asbl@gmail.com indicating:

  1. which performances you are available to attend,
  2. how many tickets you would like,
  3. a contact phone number.

ITG: The Cripple of Inishmaan (1, 7 June 2016)

Auditions for our Spring 2017 production of The Cripple of Inishmaan will be held at

The Warehouse Studio Theatre

**PLEASE NOTE** We have CANCELLED the audition scheduled for Tuesday 21st May because of the public transport and traffic problems expected from the general strike.

New Audition Dates

Wednesday 1st June (from 7:30pm)

Tuesday 7th June (from 7.30pm)

Cruel, sad, sometimes violent, yet achingly funny, the story reveals the characters in a way that makes you realise that people are not always as they seem…

We are looking for actors for male and female parts of a wide range of ages (details).

ITG: Afterplay (10, 11, 18 May)

Afterplay

A one-act play to be directed by Lyn Wainwright and performed 11-15 October 2016 as part of a Friel double-bill.

Two characters from two different Chekhov plays meet for the first time approximately twenty years after their previous fictional lives ended.

Sonya  from Uncle Vanya is still struggling with the estate but is now in her forties.

Andrey  from Three Sisters still claims to play the violin but is now a little older and in his fifties.

AUDITIONS

May 10th,11th and 18th at 7.30pm

At the Warehouse,  73 rue Waelhem,    1030 Brussels.

For further information contact

lyn.wainwright (at) gmail.com

ITG: Bloomsnight (17 June 2017)

In association with the Embassy of Ireland and TradFest 2017, the Irish Theatre Group asbl will host our annual, end-of-season Bloomsnight gathering at

De Lijsterbes Cultural Centre

Lijsterbessenbomenlaan 6

1950 Kraainem

Saturday 17 June

It is a fun evening of food, drink and entertainment, including drama, poetry and song. Tickets are €20 (including light buffet supper).

Doors open at 7:30pm, when food will be served, and entertainment beginning shortly after 8pm.

Don’t delay. Get your tickets today

ITG: Faster and Slower (14-16 June 2018)

The ITG is holding auditions for Faster and Slower by Vincent Eaton, one half of our autumn double-bill of new writing. (On stage 9-13 Oct 2018)

Faster and Slower is a dark comedy set in the near future. An ageing couple spend their time together peacefully, if slightly antagonistically. The arrival of some news creates some unexpected twists and turns…

Where and when?

Thursday 14 June 2018 at 19.30 at the Warehouse, rue Waelhem 73
Saturday 16 June 2018 at 14.00 at the Warehouse, rue Waelhem 73

Characters:

We are looking to cast the following characters:

– a woman of retirement age or beyond
– a man of retirement age or beyond
– a younger woman (under 40)

Please let us know (itg.asbl@gmail.com) if you would like to audition but cannot attend any of the scheduled auditions.

We’re looking forward to seeing you there!

ITG: Woman and Scarecrow (12, 13, 17 Sept)

The ITG is delighted to bring this recent (2006) work by Marina Carr to audiences in Brussels in February 2018. Before that however, we need a cast…
At a critical time in her life, a sick mother reviews her life decisions and her lost potential. Did it have to be like this?

Jody Quirke, the director of this production, will lead a read-through of Woman and Scarecrow at The Warehouse on Wednesday 6th September 19:30.  Attendance is not required, but do come along whether you plan to audition or not.

Auditions

Tues 12th Sept 20:00

Wed 13th Sept 20:00

Sunday 17th Sept 16:00

Characters (age of characters is provided below, but actors are not expected to be [or look!] those ages. Come along and audition!) :

  • Woman- 50s or early 60s
  • Man (Her Husband)- 50s or early 60s
  • Scarecrow- could be either gender- 50s or early 60s
  • Woman (Aunt) – 70s or early 80s

Auditions will be held at The Warehouse
73 rue Waelhem, 1030 Schaerbeek

Please let us know (itg.asbl@gmail.com) if you would like to audition but cannot attend on any of the dates/ times scheduled.

 

ITG: When Worlds Collide (9 – 13 October 2018)

ITG presents a comedy double-bill of NEW WRITING.

 

ALL Performances are SOLD OUT.

 

Faster and Slower by Vincent Eaton

A dark comedy set in the near future. An ageing couple spend their time together peacefully, if slightly antagonistically. The arrival of some news creates some unexpected twists and turns…

 

Airheads by Lisa Ni Laoire

In an age where technology is an increasing presence in our lives Airheads takes an hilarious look at an Irish couple and their attempts to break into the online B&B business. Having never been abroad, Eddie and Maura find themselves experiencing culture shock in their own kitchen.

 

Get your tickets !

ITG: Woman and Scarecrow (27 Feb – 3rd Mar 2018)

By Marina Carr

ALL performances are now SOLD OUT : Waiting list now in operation. Please send email to itg.asbl@gmail.com stating your preferred date(s) and number of tickets. In addition, if tickets become available (due to cancellation), and if there is no one on the waiting list for that performance, then you will be able to book them via the link below… so do check.

At a critical time in her life, a woman is forced to confront her life choices. Visions of what might have been, what should have been, what wasn’t.

Did things have to be this way?

In this honest and hard-hitting lament to lost potential, there is nowhere left to hide. Jody Quirke brings Marina Carr’s brilliant, original and thought-provoking play to life.

Performance starts at 8pm.

Tues 27th Feb to Sat 3rd March 2018 at The Warehouse Studio Theatre.

Tickets : €16

ITG: Our Few and Evil Days (5-9 Nov 2019)

Tickets

Our Few and Evil Days is a play about a family whose apparently normal life in a Dublin suburb conceals a dark secret. Adult themes (16+ advised).

Nothing is quite as it seems.

The unexpected and awkward arrival of the daughter’s new boyfriend unleashes a series of confessions that cross social and personal boundaries.

Mark O’Rowe’s finely balanced script draws you in weaving  together the lives of these intricate characters as it explores the sadness, guilt, love and passion that form the relationships within this family.

Described as “Powerful, compelling and utterly beautiful, Our Few and Evil Days is unlike anything seen on The Abbey Stage in recent times”, when it was first performed there (starring Ciarán Hinds and Sinéad Cusack) as part of the Dublin Theatre Festival in 2014.

Tickets €18

ITG: Fly Me To The Moon (12 Jan 2020)

ITG is delighted to bring Marie Jones’ hilarious comedy Fly Me To The Moon to Brussels. The play will be directed by Csaba Bartos and will run at the Warehouse Studio from Tuesday 5th-Saturday 9th May 2020. And since we need some actors, we are holding auditions…

Roles
Two female roles: Social Services carers, 35+ years (both are mothers of teenage children)

Audition details
Sunday 12th January at 3pm

@ Rehearsal rooms of the Warehouse: 73 rue Waelhem, 1030 Schaerbeek

You are not expected to prepare a piece for this audition and the script has not been published.

If you want to audition but cannot be there on Jan 12th, please let us know (itg.asbl@gmail.com) and we will try to accommodate.

FEATS: Goes Virtual (14-16 May 2021)

There are only a couple of weeks left until our Virtual FEATS Fringe, and we’re pleased to let you know (free) tickets are now available –

Please register to secure your tickets!

Virtual FEATS Fringe 2021 – Friday 14th May

Virtual FEATS Fringe 2021 – Saturday 15th May

Virtual FEATS Fringe 2021 – Sunday 16th May

Line-up details will follow soon – stay tuned for more information.

We are excited to see the lockdown induced creativity on screen from the comfort of our homes – keeping the theatre spirit alive during these times!

As tickets are free, you might want to give a donation to the #SaveOurTheatres – Theatres Trust in the UK which is protecting theatres that have been impacted by COVID-19 https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/theatrestrust

We look forward to (virtually) seeing you all from 14-16 May!

ITG: Bloomsnight Social Goes Virtual (16 June 2020)

A 60-90 minute event where we will read 5-6 plays… clearly they are VERY SHORT plays, and we’ll have some other activities thrown in along the way.

Bloomsnight is an audience-participation event, so let us know if you would like to perform, if you would prefer not to perform, or you are easy either way.

If you would like to attend and did not particpate in our doodle poll, simply send an email to itg.asbl@gmail.com

ETCetera: Music and Madness (21-24 OCT 2021)

L’Île de Tulipatan – opéra-bouffe de Jacques Offenbach, en français (surtitles in English): Deux adolescents arrivent à l’âge adulte avec une méconnaissance de leur sexe…

AND

A pair of Lunatics – Victorian comedy by W R Walkes, in English (surtitres en français): Some guests arrive at a ball at the local asylum not knowing quite what to expect of their evening…

Director : Alexandre Diaconu, conductor: Gabriel Hollander

Théâtre à Plomb, rue de l’Abattoir 24, 1000 Bruxelles:

Tickets: €16; 5-9 tickets: €14; 10+ tickets: €12

Tickets: www.thelittleboxoffice.com/etcetera

Thursday 21st, Friday 22nd, Saturday 23rd Oct at 20:00

Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th Oct. Matinées at 15.00

With the Covid Safe Ticket you can fully enjoy this show. All guidelines are closely followed.
info.etcetera2009@gmail.com
+32 (0)475 42 06 47
www.europeantheatreclub.eu

ITG: Augustus Does His Bit (30 Nov- 4 Dec)

A one-act verbal farce by Bernard Shaw. Directed for the ITG by Hugh Dow.

There’s a war on and Augustus, an upper-crusty if ever there was one, has to deal with Head Office, cunningly (?) counter (?) the advances of potential spies, while beleagured throughout by an insubordinate subordinate.

What could possibly go wrong?

Get your tickets now

Covid Safe Ticket Event: We are taking the following steps to increase your safety and ours:

This is a Covid Safe Ticket event. All attendees must be in possession of a valid Covid Safe Ticket or will be refused access.
We will reduce the number of seats by 25%
A CO2 meter will be monitoring air-quality, doors will be opened if required.
We request that you wear a face-mask during this short performance
We will limit the amount of time the audience is in the theatre (in and out within 60-70 minutes)
There will be no open bar before the show and there is no interval. We will offer you a ‘Welcome back to live theatre’ drink as you take your seat.

ITG: Fly me to the Moon (26-30 Apr 2022)

A real laugh-out-loud comedy from Marie Jones [A Night in November; Stones in his Pockets,…]

Tickets

We meet two Social Service careworkers who have just called in to see Davy, one of their ‘clients’, as is their routine. But this morning things are starting out a bit differently from previous days.

Brilliant and refreshing despite the gritty subject matter, Fly Me to the Moon could be set anywhere they have old fellas, Frank Sinatra records and desperation.

The Covid Safe Ticket is no longer required.

We (ATC, ECC, ITG) have made a major investment in a state of the art VENTILATION SYSTEM to comply with changing regulations and to help us all feel safe. 

Tickets

ITG: Augustus does his bit (22, 26 Sep)

A short farce by George Bernard Shaw at the Warehouse Studio (performance dates: 30 Nov- 4 Dec), directed by Hugh Dow

Auditions

7pm Wednesday 22nd Sept

3pm Sunday the 26th Sept

Where? Chez Hugh at 15 ave des Glycines, 1030 Schaerbeek

Bus 66 and tram 7 stop Louis Bertrand.

Please phone Hugh 0494 337 025 with questions or if those dates do not suit.

Parts

Augustus pompous, stupid, gullible, and gulled. In well-preserved middle age and a WW1 colonel’s uniform

The Clerk bibulous, cunning, venal, decrepit, and possibly unrequitedly lecherous

The Lady feisty with a talent for deception and able to get her way!  

Come and read even if you’re not sure

ITG: Normal Conversations? (28 Feb-4 March 2023)

A double-bill of drama: Get Your Tickets

SALAD DAY

A short conversation between an elderly man and woman is set in a residential convalescent home. The pair share memories of their respective but separate lives in previous years.

Surreptitiously at first, the woman devises a plan for them to escape together but is foiled by circumstances from carrying it out.

This poignant play was the forerunner of a successful full length drama ‘Halcyon Days’ by the author Deidre Kinahan

THE APPROACH

Three women meet over a number of years, always in pairs, and between what is said and what is not said during their conversations lies the truth.

What, on the surface, appears to be simple gossip between old friends hides a deeper tension. They are haunted by their memories of what they once shared together but now no longer enjoy.

There is a cyclical element to the play where they find themselves having the same conversations with subtle differences during different pairings and they often ask the same questions as if hoping for a different response.

Several years pass between each conversation and the cyclical nature of the play is emphasised when, at the end, we suddenly return to the beginning of the first conversation. Only then do we realise that we had originally joined it halfway through.

This will be the second play that the ITG has chosen to perform written by the successful Irish author Mark O’Rowe having previously performed ‘ Our Few and Evil Days ‘ in 2019.

Both plays are set in Dublin in the recent past.  Both explore how we can all appear to communicate our stories honestly, but we often reveal our true selves only partially.  As a result, both plays offer universal insights and as many questions as answers as the characters develop.

Both plays are directed by Lyn Wainwright.

Tickets now available here.

Venue: Warehouse Studio Theatre, Rue Waelhem 69A, Schaerbeek 1030

Googlemap of location

The Approach (14,16,17 Oct)

The ITG is delighted to bring another piece of recent writing from Mark O’Rowe to Brussels (you’ll remember: Our Few and Evil Days, Nov 2019). The play will be staged in February 2023 (dates to be finalised) and is being directed by Lyn Wainwright.

The play involves three women who were at college together in Dublin and are meeting some years later. They try to piece together what actually happened in those intervening years.

Three female roles.

We are not specifying the age of the characters nor their origins, our goal is a coherent cast.  So leave that to us and just come along and audition.  

Auditions (no preparation expected). Which of the following suits you best?

  • Friday 14th October 8 pm Bar Room
  • Sunday 16th October 3 pm Bar Room
  • Monday 17th October 8 pm Studio

Where? At the Warehouse, entry through the large metal gates at 73 rue Waelhem, Schaerbeek

It is helpful if you let us know (itg.asbl@gmail.com) to expect you, and of course if you really want to audition but cannot make any of these dates, drop us a note and we’ll see if we can accommodate.

ITG Ulster American 17-21 Oct 2023

A new play by David Ireland

A London flat belonging to a successful but nervous theatre producer. He is entertaining a Hollywood Oscar winner, who is to grace his new play written by yet-to-arrive Ruth. 
They discuss women, politics, cinema and tee-totalism. The American, a proud Irish-American, glories in the Hibernian authenticity of the script and relishes meeting the writer. Rehearsals start tomorrow. There is a little tension between the producer and the actor, but nothing that can’t be managed.
Until, that is, Ruth turns up.

Ulster American toys with identity, gender, faux woke-ism, shallow national romanticism, and artisitic pretentiousness. And while that might sound very heavy, The Guardian (2019) said: “David Ireland’s heady black comedy, a satire as timely as it is riotous, (…) If Jacobean revenge tragedies were played as uproarious comedy, they’d look like this.”

Tickets: thelittleboxoffice.com/itg/

ITG: Irish Shorts (12-15 March 2024)

(NOTE: No Saturday performance)

A selection of short plays from Ireland.

Love, relationships, lack of love, lack of relationships. Good things, not so good things, funny, poignant, thought provoking and thoroughly entertaining.

Love in a Glass Jar by Nancy Harris
You’ll think about your hotel room differently, next time you check in. The unexpected and significant life events and the key decisions that can happen in such sterile places.

I heart Alice heart I by Amy Conroy
Two women, of a certain age, are bringing it all up. Shying away from nothing as they review the decades that have gone before

And some bonus pieces…

Book your tickets

Performance starts at 8pm

Warehouse Studio, rue Waelhem, 1030 Brussels

ITG: Auditions (23 & 26 July 2023)

From the 17th to the 21st October we will be presenting Ulster American by award winning playwright David Ireland. Director: Hugh Dow

The play is a witty, full length, no interval, farce noir which toys with identity, faux woke-ism, shallow national romanticism, and artistic pretentiousness.

We are looking for three characters:

Jay Conway – American actor and Oscar winner. Very up himself, precious, and hopelessly ignorant about the complexities of Ireland

Leigh Carver – British or Irish director who has nabbed a big fish in Jay and must watch his plans to put him on in the London stage unravel before his eyes

Ruth Davenport – Ulster Protestant playwright. Gutsy, fearless, possessive of her talent and her identity crucial to the plot so authenticity essential.

Auditions

Sunday 23rd July at 3pm

Wednesday 26th at 8pm

Where? 38 av d’Italie 1050 [Trams 8 and 25 bus 41 stop Brésil]

Let Hugh know that you are planning to audition.

If neither of those dates suit, just get in contact with Hugh( via Msg, text, or WhatsApp 0494 337 025)

Rehearsals start beginning September. “And I am so damned excited about this” Hugh Dow

ITG: Stones in his Pockets (29/10/2024)

In March 2025 the ITG plans to present, Stones in his Pockets by Marie Jones and directed by Csaba Bartos

The play is set in Kerry. The main characters are locals, one has lived in the US. We are looking for two men in their 30’s (which means +/- 20-50) who will play more than a dozen characters between them.

Come along and audition. We’d love to meet you. You might well be just who we are looking for.

Tuesday 29th October 20:00

The Warehouse, 73 rue Waelhem (via metal gates), 1030 Schaerbeek

Drop us an email (itg.asbl@gmail.com) if you have any questions or to let us know if you are going to attend this audition.

ITG: Jump! (22-26 Oct 2024)

Who hasn’t had an utterly disappointing New Year’s Eve? While yours may have ended without a snog in a half-empty nightclub, it probably doesn’t compare to the New Year’s Eve journey we’ll take you on in JUMP! In this comedy-thriller by Lisa McGee of Derry Girls fame, three “party gals”, a couple of hapless, wannabe gangsters and two strangers struggling to find meaning in life collide in overlapping stories full of heartbreak, shock, and hilariously sharp dialogue. You’re guaranteed a night you’ll remember with more fondness than your last New Year’s Eve!

Sold out!

ITG: Jump! (4-7-8-10 April)

ITG is holding auditions for our October production of Jump! by Lisa McGee of Derry Girls fame. 

We are looking for 7 actors (4 female, 3 male) to play characters in their 20s to early 30s. The play is set in Newcastle in northern England, most of the characters have lived in the area for many years and have been to school together, therefore native English-speakers and slight non-native accents are welcome, one of the roles (female) is explicitly Irish in the text. 

The director Anna Holmén will be waiting for you in the bar room in the Warehouse Studio Theatre, 73 rue Waelhem, Schaerbeek, the following dates:

  • Thursday 4 April, 19.30-21.00
  • Sunday 7 April, 15.00-18.00
  • Monday 8 April, 19.30-21.00
  • Wednesday 10 April, 19.30-21.00