One of the theatre highlights this season at Roscommon Arts Centre takes place on Saturday, April 7, at 8pm, as Pan Pan Theatre Company take to the stage with their production of The Importance Of Nothing.
The show is a comedy about a drama therapy class set in an imaginary prison, where a therapist and her husband have dedicated their lives to conducting anti-homophobic workshops using the life and works of Oscar Wilde!
The Importance of Nothing is partly inspired by Wilde’s period in prison after his conviction for homosexual activity in 1895. This experience had a strong impact on Wilde’s flamboyant personality. It manifested in the writing of 'De Produndis', a long letter to his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas. Wilde wrote the letter close to the end of his imprisonment and in it he reconsiders his lifestyle and describes his cathartic journey in jail. Upon his release, he fled to Paris where he died at the age of 46, impoverished.
Pan Pan Theatre Company, which has previously adapted Shakespeare, Ibsen and Chekhov, now turns its attention to the works of Oscar Wilde. With a stellar cast which includes Mark O'Halloran, Andrew Bennett and Sonya Kelly, this is a play that has been described as human, touching and funny.
The Importance of Nothing is a contemporary reflection on Oscar Wilde: his works, his life and the conventions of his time. The play interweaves passages from Wilde’s plays and poems, real-life stories from Mark O’Halloran and Andrew Bennett growing up in Ennis and Limerick, and the harsh realities of prison-life. Wilde’s sharp humour permeates throughout, but the undertone is a deep consideration of the many troubles of human life.
Tickets are available now from Roscommon Arts Centre on (090 ) 6625824. Visit www.roscommonartscentre.ie
