Well before Trainspotting had begun, I ordered myself an AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D lens. Having had the pleasure of shooting on one several times over the past few months, once again thanks to KenMc, I had to have one.

So I ordered one and after waiting several frustrating weeks of delays and postage mix-ups, it finally arrived yesterday morning. It was worth the wait. Last night was my first chance to use the lens, as we were shooting more promotional material and posters for the upcoming Devious Theatre production; ‘Smitten’. Once again I have the pleasure of collaboration with Mr Paddy Dunne, he’ll be working his photoshop magic on the shots and Devious Theatre should begin releasing posters for the show this coming weekend.

Today was my first proper chance to test the new lens, a promo-shoot with progressive grunge rocker’s The Lions Mane. I’ll be working with the lads in the coming months as they begin to make a dent in the local music scene with a string of gigs, videos, E.P releases and of course more promo-shoots. I’ve shot most members of the band before, as they either are or were members of various bands throughout the Kilkenny Music scene, so they were all more than used to me sticking a lens in their face.

With no real concept, other than print media promo-shots for the band’s debut performance in Kilkenny, we chose to keep it simple. I chose the Boreen in Kilkenny because of the great selection of simple locations for posed-group shots; lots of stone walls, winding lanes and quiet locations to set up shots. Using the new lens’ limited depth-of-field to my advantage by positioning band members, playing around with in-camera colour temperatures and levels. Keeping in mind the style the lads were going for, in-line with their long-list of progressive and grunge influences and indeed their promo-shots. I’m more than happy with the outcome and the new lens. The lads will release more promo-shots from today’s shoot in the coming weeks.

The Lions Mane will play their debut full-band performance in Cleeres Theatre on August 16th in association with KilkennyMusic.com. A night of melodic, riff-heavy songs with ambient guitars, layered vocals and highly percussive-independent rhythms. Support on the night comes from Dublin-based progressive metallers Hero In Error, also playing their long-awaited Kilkenny debut and I’ve also being waiting a long time to shoot these guys live. This is going to be one of the gigs of the summer, an example to certain bands in Kilkenny that “progressive” music is exactly what the title suggests, it’s meant to be progressive, or let’s say go somewhere. It’s not about the tattoos, the right t-shirts or haircuts, it’s music for the sake of music, and it’s awesome.

Last week myself and Ken were on the road, quite simply travelling in the company of legends. Over the past few weeks we had been flat out organising the PR for the 2008 Clive Barnes & Jeff Lang tour. Sending out countless press releases to national and regional media, sending out albums to radio stations, talking to journalists, organising interviews and in-studio performances, all under the banner of the newly formed MyMusicPR.

The tour itself was a great success, taking in 8 national venues across Dublin, Kilkenny, Galway, Wexford, Sligo, Limerick and more. Having already had the pleasure of seeing Clive Barnes (legend!) several times before and working with him earlier this year for promo-shots (which were used for the tour), I was really looking forward to getting another chance to shoot him live.

Clive Barnes is a familiar face on the roots music circuit and has been steadily gaining himself a worldwide reputation as one of the finest lap slide/regular acoustic guitarists on today’s scene. He has four critically acclaimed albums released to date, with ‘Welcome to Farewell’ winning Acoustic Guitar Magazine’s (USA) ‘Album of the Year Award 2002’. He’s also one of the funniest people I’ve ever met, his countless stories and live performances are nothing short of pure entertainment.

I’ve been listening to Australian based musician Jeff Lang’s ‘Whatever makes you happy’ album (just 1 of 13 studio albums) repeatedly for weeks now, and I was really looking forward to meeting him, seeing him live and having the opportunity to shoot another legend on stage. (Having done all that, I’m now looking forward to catching up on his huge back-catalogue of albums.)

Jeff Lang has earned international acclaim as a virtuosic guitarist, a dynamic songwriter and a “startlingly unique” live performer, playing at major festivals and venues internationally for the past decade. Blending rock, roots, folk, blues, ballads, instrumentals, improvisations and a devastatingly high level of musicality. Long acclaimed as a superbly gifted guitarist, he is now gaining recognition as a master songwriter. Much to my delight, he’s also filled with hilarious stories from adventures on the road (told in an awesome Australian accent), and his live performances are also nothing short of pure entertainment.

Jeff was joined on the tour by renowned Melbourne-based bassist Grant Cummerford. Another legend in my opinion. And having the pleasure of listening to Clive, Jeff and Grant off-stage was an experience itself, I don’t think myself and Ken have ever laughed so much, whilst picking up Aussie terms like “trough-lollies” and “slurp roads”.

My latest series of shots captures Clive Barnes’ performances in Cleere’s Theatre, Kilkenny and Barry’s in Grange, County Sligo. Unfortunately, due to the lights creating a buzz through the P.A in Cleeres, I was reduced to shooting under a single spot-light, meaning I didn’t get to shoot Jeff because of his position on the stage. I made up for this in Barry’s.

Shooting Clive through a doorway at the side of the stage, with lights behind him giving nice flares and colour. I shot Jeff & Grant from the front of the stage, with Jeff on the left side directly under a horrible red-light (I hate them) and Grant fading into the dark-side of the stage, I initially struggled but eventually found a good setting to capture his awesome performance. Then I had the opportunity to shoot all of them together, as Clive joined Jeff and Grant on-stage for a few songs at the end.

I have to say the highlight of my adventures had to be sitting around with Ken, Clive, Jeff and Grant in Barry’s after the gig that night, once the crowd had left. Instruments were passed around for several hours, as the lads jammed together, swapping guitars and stories between songs. I can safely say I have never witnessed such unbelievable musical talent. I left my camera in it’s bag and sat in pure awe into the early hours of the morning, as I’ve said before quite simply in the company of legends.

You can check out all of my shots from the Clive Barnes & Jeff Lang 2008 Tour here in the KilkennyMusic Galleries, until the MyMusicPR website gets an overhaul for the official launch (more on that very soon).

Before the previously posted reviews of ‘Trainspotting’ began to flood in, before the devious junkie’s even had a chance to go through “post-show-blues” and “cold turkey”, Devious Theatre had already announced our next production; ‘Smitten’.

Here’s the official Devious word on the show;

“Smitten depicts a tragicomic series of loosely interlinked vignettes set in Kilkenny City over a succession of rainy summer nights. The play takes its cues from the short stories of Raymond Carver and the films of Woody Allen (the early funny ones that is). The characters at the core of Smitten are trying to get their bearings in life, each stuck in their own limbo. The realities of adult life are dealing a harsh blow to the best laid plans, in a way that leaves them totally smitten… in all the meanings of the word.

Alcoholism. Pregnancy. Testicular Cancer. Apathy. Doomed Relationships.
Sock Puppets. Those elusive mystery girls. How to dance to Bruce Springsteen. And rain. Lots of rain. Smitten functions as a theatrical collage, with intertwining narratives and varying forms of narrative giving life to the comic and often tragic stories that litter the rainy streets of Kilkenny City.” Read More…

Here’s my two words; “It’s Awesome!”.

We’re already knee-deep in rehearsals as well as preparing promotional material for the show, with just five-weeks until the opening night. Thankfully, I’ll have a lot more time to be snapping behind-the-scenes on this production and will hopefully get to blog through-out as well. I’ll also get another opportunity to work with Paddy “the photoshop wizard” Dunne on some promo material. Awesome!

This series of slow-shutter shots was more of an experiment for shots to come, I’m hoping to do individual character promo shots closer to the show. Taken at rehearsals, camera on a tripod, 50mm lens (cheers Ken, I ordered my own over 4 weeks ago!), trying different speeds between 10″ to 30″, using the remote with flash-bursts as the shutter opened and closed, also using the natural light beams coming in through the windows as the sun went down. Quite simply it creates nice trails, different saturation levels and levels of movement as people move around the room. Just a test but more to come. You can check out more of my behind-the-scenes snaps from ‘Smitten’ rehearsals here on the Devious Theatre Bebo.

Tickets for Smitten are being sold in Rollercoaster Records, Kieran Street from 21st of July and they are 10EURO. The show runs August 20 – 23 and starts 8pm nightly. For more information and updates, check out www.devioustheatre.com

Another one from the long list of reviews, this one thanks to Aisling Hurley in the Kilkenny Voice;

“A brilliant night of Trainspotting”

A BRAVE and edgy production of Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting by Kilkenny’s Devious Theatre Company finished an almost sell-out run at Kilkenny’s Watergate Theatre on Saturday.

Based on the novel that also inspired the 1996 hit film of the same name, the play centred on the lives of a group of young heroin users living in Edinburgh, Scotland, during the 1980s. The fantastically gritty posters depicting characters in a variety of disturbing situations and the warning that the show contained scenes of a graphic nature suggested that the show would be one that Kilkenny theatre-goers would remember for some time.

It did not disappoint.

Ross Costigan delivered a strong performance as lead character and narrator Mark Renton. His portrayal of the unscrupulous but likeable anti-hero was a deviation from some of the more confrontational roles he has recently played and proved that the Kilkenny actor has an extremely bright future. Other performances of note were those by Maria Murray in the role of Alison and Stephen Colfer who played Danny ‘Spud’ Murphy. Both young actors impressed the audience with their delivery of almost seamless monologues containing difficult subject matter relating to bodily functions.

The sensitive direction by Niamh Moroney and John Morton allowed the audience to wrestle between sympathy for the characters and complete despair that they would allow themselves end up in such a situation. Full marks are also due to the cast for deciding to include the humiliating and sometimes difficult scenes where Spud soils the bed sheets in a friend’s house, where Renton searches through an overflowing toilet for opium suppositories and where Tommy (played by Ken McGuire) shoots heroin into his genitals.

With this production, The Devious Theatre Company achieved everything that they set out to – to offer Kilkenny audiences theatre that is fresh, exciting and a little bit deviant. Other cast members included Niall Sheehy as Begbie, Paul Young as Johnny ‘Mother Superior’ Swan, John Morton as Sick Boy, Suzanne O’Brien as Dianne, Simone Kelly as Lizzie, Mairead Kiernan as June and Michael Murphy as a variety of characters. The theatre group’s next show ‘Smitten’ will run in Cleere’s Theatre, Parliament Street in August. The play, written by John Morton, is set in Kilkenny and is a tragicomic series of vignettes set over a depressingly rainy summer.

You can read my extremely long re-cap of ‘Trainspotting’ here in a previous post.

Another review of ‘Trainspotting‘, this time thanks to Liam Murphy of the Munster Express;

The Devious Theatre Company returned in punk and grotesque glory to The Watergate Theatre, Kilkenny with a high-octane production of Trainspotting by Shock Jock, Irvine Welsh. Following on from last year’s weird musical, Cannibal - the Musical, this young and exciting theatre company went full-tilt into-your-face with the theatrical version of the 1993 hit novel that brought a Tarantino-style fame to Leith-born writer, Welsh. Welsh means to shock and be disgusting and further books like Filth Porno and Glue added to the reputation to compel and repulse in often equal measure.

The Litmus test or acid test of companies who take on this play is the famous toilet scene where Renton retrieves his heroin suppositories from a stinking toilet bowl or the waitress/tampon/tomato soup scene. And Devious Theatre Company caught that visceral mood of revulsion and attraction so well. A young adult audience gasped at the unflinching depiction and at the same time were gagging for it and gagging from it.

John Morton and Niamh Moroney’s direction caught the mood so well without in any way over glamorising the despair of the characters lost in a toxic fog of hopes and shite. Eddie Brennan’s set design was grim and grimy. Gerry Taylor’s lighting was stark and edgy as required. Alan Dawson’s sound design was a punk paradise of hard tunes for hard times. A song There Is A Light That Never Goes Out was new to me but it underlined the sliver of hope in such an unredemptive play.

The ensemble cast were excellent and never flinched from the awfulness of the context and never sank into cheap laughter-seeking. Ross Costigan as Renton dominated the production with a powerful physical performance that was very impressive. Maria Murray as Alison was equally powerful and she chilled me to the bone with biting realism. Ken McGuire was a convincing Tommy and his descent into degradation was powerful. Suzanne O’Brien was a significant Dianne as was Mairead Kiernan in a series of cameos. Michael Murphy played about ten parts and he was spot-on at all times. Simone Kelly looked great as Lizzie and caught the caring and uncaring female very well.

Niall Sheehy was the edgy psychopath, Begbie who would stab his father and shag his ma but he tended to rush the accent. John Morton was a fine Sick Boy. Phil Young excelled as Mother Superior and Stephen Colfer evoked sympathy for the bewildered Spud. The ending of the play is a little bit of a cop-out but Devious gave it a theatrical value as the cast repeatedly changed The Lord’s Prayer. This was a production that led us into temptation and also delivered us from evil.

You can read my extremely long re-cap of ‘Trainspotting’ here in a previous post.

Here’s another awesome review for ‘Trainspotting‘. It was published in Gerry Moran’s column in the July 2nd edition of the Kilkenny People;

THE OLD ORDER IS CHANGING, YIELDING PLACE TO NEW.

When, exactly, does the old order yield to the young? When, for instance, did the fifties finally surrender to the swinging sixties? When did showbands succumb to beat groups and discos? It’s never quite black or white but there comes a moment, I believe, when you just know something has changed.

I experienced one of those moments recently in our wonderful Watergate Theatre, I say wonderful for two reasons: one, it is a wonderful amenity (and thank you Tommy Martin for you vision and drive which gave Kilkenny the Watergate) and two, the production I was at was nothing short of wonderful. At least this writer thought so.

The production in question was Trainspotting, an adaptation of Scottish author Irvine Welsh’s 1993 novel of the same name, by the Devious Theatre Company. “The Devious Theatre Company” according to the programme notes, “was formed in May 2006 by some theatre loving Kilkennyians who had a desire to bring fresh and different works to the local stage”.

Trainspotting is decidedly different. John B Keane it is not. Brian Friel it is not. Hugh Leonard it is not. Trainspotting is a production you bring your elderly aunt to if you want to ease her into an early grave. It’s a production you bring your mother to if you want to make her feel decidedly uneasy. As for elderly uncles and fathers - they’ll probably tell you they’ve seen it all and heard it all before. Men are like that. Full of s***.

Trainspotting is also full of s***. Literally. And more. A hell of a lot more. Only to be expected from a play about drugs and disillusionment in a depressed Edinburgh of the bleak, recessionary 80s. This play is rough, raw, coarse and down-right crude. But that’s what made it such a courageous, and successful, production.

The performances were far from flawless (just like this column) but it was passionate, it was vibrant, it was honest. I applaud all involved with the production - the crew, the directors: Niamh Moroney & John Morton and the cast: Ross Costigan, Ken McGuire, Niall Sheehy, Maria Murray, Stephen Colfer, Paul Young, John Morton, Suzanne O’Brien, Simone Kelly, Mariead Keirnan, Micheal Murphy, Paddy Dunne. And I have no difficulty whatsoever in singling out Ross Costigan who was the linchpin, the nucleus, the centre of gravity of the play. The guy was marvellous. Full stop.

Regarding theatre in Kilkenny - I have been privileged to come up in an era of the New Theatre Group, Pan Players, Theatre Unlimited, Kats, Bickerstaffe, Barnstorm to name but a few - all of whom made, and some of whom continue to make, a huge and enriching contribution to theatre life in our city.

But Thursday night last I felt that a new order has arrived. A new batch of actors. A young batch, a fresh batch, a vibrant batch. And I felt privileged to be sitting there, witnessing the arrival of this new order.

My friend and fellow columnist, John Cleere, who knows a thing or two about theatre (it’s not for nothing we have Cleere’s Theatre just across from the Watergate) wrote the following about the Devious Theatre Company recently: “The Devious Theatre could be as important to Kilkenny as Druid Theatre have been to Galway and Red Kettle to Waterford, given the proper encouragement and support”. I couldn’t agree more.

But you know something - even if the Devious Theatre Company never win acclaim, they are to be applauded for what they are doing now. For starters they’re putting bums on seats - and I thought it was wonderful to see so many young people in the Watergate last week. Such a change from the regular fuddy-duddies (like myself).

They’re also doing what they set out to do - they’re bringing fresh and different works to the local stage. And they do it with such energy and such enthusiasm. And it was that energy, that enthusiasm emanating from the stage, that made us, the audience, realise that this was something special. That this theatre group, this collection of youngsters, this collection if like-minded individuals, who love what they’re doing, who love theatre, will be around for a long time to come.

Watch out for the Devious Theatre Company. They’re good. They’re very good. They’re the future of theatre in Kilkenny.

You can read my extremely long re-cap of ‘Trainspotting’ here.

Our first review of ‘Trainspotting‘, thanks to former owner of Cleere’s Theatre - John Cleere. This review was published in the ‘Cleere Thinking’ column in the June 26th Edition of the Kilkenny Advertiser.

TRAINSPOTTING AT THE WATERGATE THEATRE

Have you ever watched the high wire act at the circus? Part of the fascination is wondering will someone slip and crash to the ground.

The Devious Theatre Company took the high wire this week when they tackled Irvine Welsh’s ‘Trainspotting’. This was risky stuff, the film is familiar to the mainly young audience, so they needed to bring something fresh to their stage adaptation.

I’m glad to say there are no shattered bones or broken artistic reputations to report. For anyone unfamiliar with the book or film, this is the story of a bunch pretty hopeless cases living very close to, if not completely over, the edge in Edinburgh. This isn’t the Edinburgh seen by visitors to the arts festival or rugby internationals. We are down in the underbelly where unemployment, alcohol and heroin are boss.

So, in a week that the country has been officially declared to be in a recession, is this the type of show that we really need? Actually I think it is. Along with a dose of reality there are plenty of laughs, especially once you come to terms with the near perfect Scottish accents.

The play has a cast of 11, some playing multiple roles. This is a big undertaking, but the company use two directors, Niamh Moroney and John Morton, to knock it into shape. I caught the opening night where there were just a couple of slow moments, but this should be ironed out by now.

With such a large cast it’s probably unfair to single out any individual performance, but in this case Ross Costigan deserves special mention. He is on stage for most of the show and you just know that this is the part he always wanted as he makes his journey through the hell of heroin addiction and back out again.

By the way, if you are easily offended this is probably not the play for you, although thousands of people seem to have no problem guffawing away to much more distasteful material from Tommy Tiernan.

Earlier in the day I attended the AGM of Kilkenny Tourism where the County Manager, Joe Crockett, outlined the importance of arts and culture to the future of Kilkenny. The Devious Theatre could be as important to Kilkenny as Druid Theatre have been to Galway or Red Kettle to Waterford, given the proper encouragement and support.

‘Trainspotting’ continues at The Watergate until Saturday June 28. ‘Not to be missed’, as the reviewers love to say.

You can read my extremely long re-cap of ‘Trainspotting’ here in my previous post.

Devious Theatre’s production of Irvine Welsh’s ‘Trainspotting’ has unfortunately come to a close (for now anyway). I had hoped to blog throughout our third production, but as usual, time always disagrees with my best intentions. I’m still completely overwhelmed by the whole thing, I’m not sure I could ever capture it all in a mere blog post, but I can easily say the past week has been one of the best weeks of my life. (This is going to be a very, very long blog post!)

Following on from weeks of intensive rehearsals, learning lines, mastering Scottish accents, practicing monologues, researching drug-use, and countless other things, we hit the Watergate Theatre last Sunday in final preparation for the show we hoped would firmly imprint the name Devious Theatre in people’s minds (and veins). I’m not sure any of us expected the reaction we’ve received, the overwhelming response we’ve had and the “buzz” that spread throughout Kilkenny leaving a whole new wave of “devious” junkies screaming for “one more hit”.

I’ve done a lot of shows over the years, I’ve walked the boards of the Watergate stage many times, it’s hard to explain the awesome feeling I get when I return to do it again, but to do so simply; I love it. And clearly I’m not the only one; all day Sunday we were buzzing around the Watergate, trying on costumes, music blasting, make-up and prop tests, people dancing, the set being constructed and giddy smiles all around. This was easily the biggest role I’ve ever played, an enormous challenge for me. Trainspotting was easily the biggest thing Devious have ever done (so far), and was hopefully going to be the show that displayed the broad range of talents, skills and abilities that Devious Theatre has to offer (so far). The tech-rehearsal and dress rehearsal flew by, myself and John Morton had our hair bleached and then dyed ginger (me) and bright blue (John), everyone laughed, our opening night came on Tuesday. I can easily say I’ve never been so nervous.

People piled into the theatre, the curtains opened, the lights came up and we let fly with our barrage of Scottish accents, monologues, syringes and “the C word”. The audience laughed at the highs, during the lows you could hear a pin-drop. Some people left in disgust (clearly naive and repressed). During “the toilet scene”, people gagged and moaned as their stomachs turned. Near the end, I looked out to see people crying in the audience. And when the lights finally went down in the finale, there was a stunned delay before the audience erupted with cheers and claps for the curtain call.It was hard to get feedback after the show, people were speechless. Countless hand-shakes, pats on the back, hugs, stunned smiles, praise and a lock-in followed.

Wednesday night, less than an hour before the curtain opened, Michael Murphy tripped coming off the stage (damn you Batman Trailer). Within minutes his ankle had swollen to the size of my head! Playing several different characters ( I think 8 in total), Micheal appeared throughout the story in various roles from the opium suppository dealing “Mikey Forrestor” to a “foostie minged auld c**t”. It was hard not to panic. Plans and scenes were re-arranged frantically, some actors took on any roles they could, I’d have to do some scenes on my own and refusing to give up, Michael did any scenes he could. Word of the show was spreading, the second night crowd were bigger than the first. The curtain opening and we “slammed the life-giving, life-taking-away elixir home”. Again people were stunned, the buzz continued to grow (and “rumour has it we went to Morrissons”).

On Thursday morning, my voice was gone, my whole body ached, everyone was exhausted and Mick had surgery on his ankle. I had completely given up on the possibility of being able to reply to the flood of txt messages, emails, bebo and myspace comments about the show. With only hours to go, we hit the Watergate to properly re-work and rehearse scenes. Micheal’s roles were divided up, again with some actors taking on extra roles and Devious Theatre committee member (and legend) Paddy Dunne learning lines to take-over the remaining parts. Our first review was published in the Kilkenny Advertiser, with John Cleere praising the show (I’ll post the review later). We were expecting it to be our quietest night, technically it was, but still over 130 people planted themselves into the Watergate seats for what so many people have described to me as “the greatest thing I’ve ever seen!”. Again; countless hand-shakes, pats on the back, hugs, stunned smiles, praise, some quickly scribbled congratulations notes and “rumour has it, we went to Morrissons”.

By Friday, I was reconsidering what I had previously considered the terms “exhausted” and “sore”. My throat was swollen, I gulped down endless amounts of hot-water, honey and lemon (Gollum Juice) and Difflam throat spray. Bookings were continuing to rapidly increase, people were constantly approaching me in the street to talk about the show, my Carlow crew flooded me with messages, they had booked out a whole row and had never seen me act, my stomach was doing somersaults. Mick showed up back-stage, he struggled on his crutches, profanities were written big and bright on his leg-cast, hugs were had all around.

The curtains opened to our biggest crowd yet, before the lights had even come up; myself (Rentboy), Ken McGuire (Tommy), Stephen Colfer (Spud) and John Morton (Sickboy) perched ourselves at the front of the stage in the dark, the opening music began and suddenly people began clapping and screaming, within seconds it had spread throughout the crowd, you could feel the energy in the theatre, we whispered to each other in shock on-stage, the lights came up and revealing the awesome set with four iconic characters bobbing their heads to ‘Blue Monday’, the crowd erupted. There you have it, the moment that myself and John Morton now call one of the greatest moments, ever! The even more amazing thing was, that this moment lasted nearly two hours, and when we finally took to the stage for the curtain call I was completely blown away as I watched audience members jumping to their feet. The ripple spread and we were standing on-stage staring out at a standing ovation. No words come to mind to describe this. It is a sight and feeling I will never forget yet never manage to put into words. Again followed by; hugs, stunned smiles, countless hand-shakes, pats on the back, praise (and rumour has it that we went to Morrissons but it was full of scum so we went to Anna Condas instead.)

Still managing to re-invent new meaning for “exhausted” and “sore”, drinking sickening amounts of “Gollum Juice”, overdosing on Difflam throat spray and energy drinks, we hit the Watergate early. Myself, John Morton and Suzanne O’Brien(Diane) got into costume and took to the streets of Kilkenny as junkies from the streets of Edinburgh, handing out flyers for the show and chatting to people in-character. People shook our hands, shouted Trainspotting quotes at us, stared, pointed, cheered and some stood completely confused by Scottish slang. Following my nightly warm-up/stretching session/freak-out, we had our nightly talk from directors Niamh Moroney & John Morton, we took to the stage ready for our final 8pm start.

8pm came and went, I paced the stage in anticipation. The usual sights of people hugging, smiling, people in trances as they ran through scenes in their head one last countless time. At 8:05pm, we could actually hear the crowd still growing, somebody passed on the shocking message; “holy sh*t, there’s even people in the balcony!”. Time continued to pass, it was hard to contain nervous giggles, we were visibly shaking and twitching with anticipation. When the crowd finally finished pouring in, sometime near 8:15pm, the curtains pulled back in the dark, we stared at the silohuettes of a full-house… “Blue Monday” began, the clapping and cheers began, the lights came up and there was that moment again, the one that lasts nearly two hours. Once again followed by a standing ovation. I was stunned, overwhelmed, amazed… you get the idea.

After that we hit Cleeres (again) for drinks, then we headed back to Ken McGuire’s house for quite easily the most anticipated party of the year. A Devious Theatre after-show party is very difficult to describe to anybody who wasn’t there, it’s kind of like the 60’s all in one night (without the drugs). Between four of us, we bought 96 bottles of beer. Following on from the week we had just survived, we deserved some epic celebrations and I can safely say; they were had. I have hundreds of hilarious photos, that make my sides sore from laughter, the cast continue to piece the night together on the cast forums, I’ve tried to keep up with the comments but I keep falling off my chair laughing when I read the thread. On Sunday night, we got together for dinner and one final time the rumour has it; we went to Morrissons.

On Monday, we entered the Watergate Theatre one final time (for now), the set was taken down, everything was packed away, John had his hair bleached again and went from bright-blue to “a light chestnut brown”, I think I’ll keep mine for a while. Still we were buzzing from the show. We went for dinner and still we couldn’t walk the streets without people approaching us about the show. I think I can easily say people will be talking about Trainspotting in Kilkenny for a long, long time. Any of us that were still able to hold back the tiredness went for a final drink, chatting about the week we had in pure shock and amazement. It has in no way sunk-in yet how great it was, it will take a while, and post-show blues on this one will probably make “coming off scag” more “like a bad flu!”.

I’m well aware that this is a ridiculously long post, but like I said, the past week has been of the best weeks of my life and I apologise but I still have a long list of “thank yous” and respect I would like to give to people. Where to start!? Firstly, with Directors Niamh Moroney & John Morton for their unbelievable work throughout this production. For having so much faith in me and seeing ability I never knew existed. For giving me the greatest part I have ever played (I thought you were crazy) and constantly encouraging me throughout. For awesome direction and constant willingness to expand on things and work on ideas. It was a pleasure from start to finish and I cannot wait to work with both of you again.

Thanks to Paddy Dunne, firstly for the awesome photo-shop wizardry on the posters that covered the town and initially set tongues wagging about the show. Then for plunging into the deep-end at the last minute when Mick got injured. And for so many other reasons; the countless times you make me laugh and feel the need to “high-5″ you. I’m so happy we finally got to do scenes together, that photo I have will always make me cry with laughter and seriously, I think you should dress as “Uncle Cha-Cha” all the time.

Ken McGuire, dude, I seriously don’t know where to start at this stage, quite simply; you rock. From endless encouragement to never slowing down, it’s both inspiring and tiring to see how much one person can do. And then to do so without ever complaining or not smiling!? I think he might be a Cylon!? It was awesome to share moments like we did on stage, you could nearly hear the tears hitting the ground in the auditorium. Thank you.

Thanks to Eddie “look out! he’s falling over!” Brennan, Murt Brennan and Ned Green for building the coolest looking set I have ever seen. Thanks to everyone who helped painting it and to Andy Harte for covering it with awesome graffitti. Thanks to Gerry Taylor for then lighting it and sorry for missing my marks, I think I covered it up well!? Thanks to Daw for the sound, yet another person who continues to provide me with endless encouragement in everything I do, and another person I could never thank enough. Thanks to the best crew ever; back-stage manager Colm Sheehan for your endless enthuasism and bad jokes, Thom Dowling for your crowd disgusting props and always running to get things I had forgotten, Kevin Mooney for your bad jokes and constant willingness to “get it out!”. Sorry I kept knocking the coffin over guys!

Thanks to Niall “he really is Begbie” Sheehy, for your constant energy, I’ve never seen anybody dance to “Cotton-Eye Joe” with such enthusiasm. When we were on the stage together people laughed so hard and when we went out into the auditorium screaming “The Road to Nowhere” you could see the fear of god in people. Thanks to Stephen “Spud” Colfer, for always making me laugh and endless batches of “Gollum Juice”. See you next time for the “Hour of Power” but remember to bring more beer Spud! Thanks to Suzanne “Dropping Lyrical Bombs” O’Brien for being crazy, please don’t tell me about your dreams, they hurt my head. Thanks to Maria Murray for her willingness to be bent over a coffin and generally put in positions somebodie’s parents should never see them in. To Paul “Mother Superior” Young for awesome chats and to Simone “I can’t believe she’s in Australia now” Kelly for your hilarious scumbag voice and falling over during the lock-in. Thanks to Mairead “Meet Mister Fist” Kiernan, who without a doubt destroys the fact that “girls aren’t funny!”, damn France and it’s luck! Thanks to Aileen Johnson for ruining my hair, doing my make-up, constantly poking me in the eye and trying to kidnap me to Belgium. Thanks to Kate St. John for the awesome costumes and Aoife Bambrick for more make-up. Thanks to Shane Hatton for the awesome photographs throughout and to Alan Slattery for shooting the video and agreeing to add all our crazy extra features ideas. I can’t wait to see it.

Thanks to Micheal “Too Excited by Batman ” Murphy, for all his hard work throughout rehearsals, I’m so sad you got injured dude. I’m glad we shared the boards on Tuesday night and look forward to doing so again. Thanks for making everyone awesome Trainspotting t-shirts, for never wanting to quit even when you couldn’t stand and for getting out of hospital to come back-stage providing me with encouragement.

I’m very worried that I’ve left somebody out, it’s hard to remember everyone for every awesome thing they have done. So if I’ve missed anybody then I really apologise, I’m exhausted and I’m still completely overwhelmed about this experience. I’ll no doubt be still blogging about Trainspotting for a while and the last week will always be firmly planted in my head and heart. It will always make me smile. I’m so proud of all of us for what we have achieved and so grateful to you all for so much.

Finally, I have to thank any person who came to see the show, especially those of you who came several times. Thanks to everyone who has sent us praise and compliments in messages, phone-calls, emails, comments on bebo or myspace. Thanks to all the people who have come up to us in the street, those who have blogged about the show, talked about it in the newspapers, on the radio, everywhere… thanks to you all, I’m so glad you enjoyed it and can safely say there is plenty more to come from us at Devious Theatre. So there you have it, one of the greatest weeks of my life and an insanely long blog post. “Awesome… awesome to the max!!!”