Friday 21 August 2009

An Evening with Great Irish Writers - Scariff Library

“An Evening with Great Irish Writers” - a One-Man Performance by Neil O’Shea.







“An Evening with Great Irish Writers” - a One-Man Performance by Neil O’Shea. Neil O’Shea is an actor who has performed his one-man show “An Evening with Great Irish Writers” (and its shorter sister “The Irish Writers Entertain”) in numerous venues and countries in recent years. Clare County Library, with the County Arts Office, is pleased to announce his appearance at Scariff Public Library on Tuesday 25th August in an event organised to mark Heritage Week 2009. Given the range of literary prowess exhibited by Ireland over the centuries this event is a very appropriate way for the library to mark our cultural heritage. The show has a great emphasis on humour (and a sprinkling of the more serious and lyrical) with short extracts by many of the older internationally known writers such as Jonathan Swift, Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw, W.B. Yeats, J.M. Synge, Sean O'Casey, Percy French and more. Some extracts will be very familiar but others less so. These short extracts are performed in a simple stylish presentation without the need for either specific costume or set – rather like a stand up routine but with material by some of the best ever writers! Neil O'Shea has performed his shows in Dublin at the Dublin Writers Museum, Andrew's Lane Studio and Bewley's Cafe Theatre among other venues. He has toured extensively in the USA and has also done a number of residencies at American universities. In the last four years he has performed “An Evening with Great Irish Writers” for two separate runs at different theatrical venues in Los Angeles and has received excellent reviews for the shows. Neil has had a career in Radio and Television having presented numerous shows on RTE 1 Radio (such as "Late Date", "Morning Call/Risin'Time" and many more) and has appeared in comic sketches on Network Two in “The End” and “Nightshift.” Reviews for the show include comments such as “O'Shea is enraptured by the characters........It is an evening of enjoyment and education; an engaging intermingling of laughter and heightened poetry. O'Shea has a real command of both the work and the stage. His love for the literature is evident, as is his passion for performance” (Los Angeles Metro) and “the final offering – arrives too soon, a testament to O’Shea’s unassuming expertise” (Los Angeles Times) and “...a superior salon piece...” (The Irish Times). “An Evening with Great Irish Writers” takes place at Scariff Public Library at 8.00 pm on Tuesday 25th August. Admission is free but advance booking is advised. To reserve your place contact Scariff library at 061 922893.

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