http://donegalnews.com/2013/05/sparkplug-and-an-ode-to-travellers-by-little-john-nee/
Nostalgia: Sparkplug Troubles
Well I can’t keep up with the keeping up. But here’s a bit of it anyway. New show “Nostalgia: Sparkplug Troubles” premiered at An Grianan on the 10th May where it was received with a rapture seldom seen anywhere outside of a bingo hall and likewise in the same venue on the following night. The show will proceed to the Donegal island of Arranmore for a performance on Saturday 18th May. In the town of Strabane at the lovely Alley Theatre on the 23rd May there will be a pre-show performance in the foyer by the Muckymore Penny Geggies! On the 30th May I perform the show at the Regional Cultural Centre Letterkenny and the following night in The Anchor Arts Centre in Moville.
This show was commissioned by An Grianan Theatre as part of a Peace III funding initiative.
Sparkplug wins Irish Times Theatre Award
Related show
2013
A very very quick hello to let you know I have been nominated for an Irish Times Theatre Award for “Best Sound Designer” for Sparkplug.
Other news: I shall be collaborating with some groups in a workshop format throughout January, February March and April, I will be working on a new show with An Grianan as part of a Peace III initiative and hopefully touring lots of touring, I am developing a show to tour to tiny venues and site specific events, and Sparkplug is now booking for festivals http://www.littlejohnnee.com/shows/sparkplug-2/
Sparkplug RTE Drama on one link
http://www.rte.ie/drama/radio/genres-comedy-sparkplug.html
Catch up!
I administer this site myself so sometimes when things get hectic I don’t get a chance to update, and the past two months have been more beautifully hectic than I could have hoped for. September began with a return visit to the Town Hall Theatre Galway with “The Mothers Arms” for four nights; a day to set up in Dublin and “Sparkplug” began a six night run at The Lir Theatre, part of ABSOLUT Fringe (see “sparkplug beyond in dublin” below for reviews) Following this run I immediately began rehearsals for a “Bag of Queens” the first project in a new residency with An Grianan Theatre ( this is a “Peace III” initiative I will post separate update on this subject later) and a tour of rural halls in Donegal, part of The Bluestacks Festival and “Wainsfest; playing two shows a day in Edinafagh, Ardara, Inver, Bundoran, Ballintra, Arranmore Island, Bun Beag, Falcarragh, Regional Cultural Centre Letterkenny, Balor Theatre Ballybofey, The Alley Theatre Strabane. The tour ends in An Grianan Theatre Letterkenny with two shows on November 2nd.
Also during this period I performed “The Happy Prince” with Vincent Kennedy and The Donegal Youth Orchestra at Barbaro International Childrens Festival in the Town Hall Galway; I provided the music for RTÉ’s Drama On One presentation of The Bacon Slicer by Andrew Fox, winner of the 2012 PJ O’Connor Award for Radio, a live broadcast in association with Dublin Theatre Festival; and I experienced great delight with two days of songwriting and storytelling workshops in Ballinasloe and Galway during “Away With Words” an innovative arts project which enables people with intellectual disability to explore and develop their creativity through writing.
Today I am adapting “Sparkplug” for a radio broadcast. I will be playing in the newly refurbished Taibhearc Theatre Galway as part of “The Spirit of Voice” Festival on November 11th
More about the “An Grianan” residency to follow including collaborations with “The Donegal Travellers Project” and “Solas Mental Health”
Related show
sparkplug beyond in dublin
Irish Times September 13
The set is cluttered with arcane instruments and vintage bric-a-brac, but Little John Nee’s one-man show is marked by an economy of musical score and storytelling style, as he sketches an offbeat portrait of Donegal life. The plot, such as it is, concerns the eponymous handyman who falls for a bohemian Belfast artist, living in her late father’s improbably dry-docked boat, while competing for with attentions of a dastdardly ex-cop. The story takes second place to mood and tone, however.
Nee conjures up an atmospheric soundtrack, his array of ukuleles, melodicas and accordions amplified by imaginative audio techniques, audience interactivity and his own bluesy vocals. The understated monologue is similarly characterised by evocative vignettes, distinctive wit and wry references to political foibles. Imagine Garrison Keillor relocating to Ulster’s northwest in the company of Tom Waits and D’Unbelievables and you get an idea of Nee’s singularly enjoyable production.
Until Saturday
Mick Heaney
irishtheatremagazine
In this piece, Little John Nee becomes Sparkplug O’Callaghan, a singer who is compelled to sing the blues, finding cause, as he wanders around the shifting sands of the northern Tullyglen, represented by the boxes on stage that unfurl narrative props with each visiting.
At one point, the boxes begin to resemble a lighthouse – an interesting symbol for this piece of storytelling which looks to search out small stories, creating an atmosphere where innocence and restlessness coexist; it’s there in the children swinging idly on the gate, and in the pensioned-off guard obsessively stalking Ruby, a local woman that has stolen his heart.
This is a mesmerising piece of theatre that suggests poetry in the details, bringing a local community to life through a particular kind of language: “Crazy Horse Corcoran is going to Dublin to set a man straight, and asked me if I would officiate at a burial”, which sets a surreal tone, bringing to mind something like Katherine Dunn’s novel Geek Love, with its traveling carnival, as Tullyglen community looks forward to “vintage day”, or John McGahern, with its clear-eyed take on a world that is not as it first appears. It is a place of splendid isolation, replete with secret yearning, subtle sectarian sympathies, pet cemeteries and boats in meadows – Ireland, in other words.
Star rating: ★★★★ Siobhán Kane Reviewed 11 September
thejournal.ie Nutshell review: Sparkplug
Margaret McLaughlin’s review: Little John Nee and his arrayment of curious-looking instruments bring the audience on a sensory journey throughout Donegal and a journey through narrative itself. His poetic stories have a sincere authenticity about them, although quite absurd and often tongue-in-cheek.
Nee uses the entire stage and draws the viewer in with his audio-visual approach to storytelling. He turns puppeteer in handing out little bells to the audience which are dramatically conducted with a spanner.
The transient journey brings the viewer from tale of red hen, who was buried in an pet cemetery in Donegal, to the thuggery that exists between football groups Celtic and Rangers, to disgust at the banking controversy and then back again to meet a tradesman who enterprises out of bottling the air at the top of Mt Errigal. His quick comedic wit was expressed in this gut-wrenchingly funny show drawing from nostalgic tales of comedic blues.
In three words? Entertaining. Absurd. Hilarious.
Related show
Sparkplug @ ABSOLUT Fringe
Sparkplug @ ABSOLUT Fringe
Tickets for sale online now! @ www.fringefest.com
Box office opens on August 21st in Filmbase, Curved Street, Temple Bar.
Phone lines open on August 21st call 1850 FRINGE (1850 374643)
sparkplug at earagail
My new show “sparkplug” went down a storm at Earagail Arts Festival. I will add photographs to the gallery over the next few days with more information about the show and upcoming dates. Sparkplug is a show that has been percolating for a while and Earagail Arts Festival were kind enough to commission it to premier at this years festival.
A Bag of Queens
My children’s show “A Bag of Queens” went down really well in An Grianan during the week and I’m looking forward to upcoming performances in Backstage Longford, and Roscommon Arts Centre next week. The show will return to Donegal in the autumn for a tour of schools as part of a Peace 3 Initiative facilitated by An Grianan
www.backstage.ie
www.roscommonartscentre.ie
www.angrianan.com