The Abbey Theatre, and Chicago is the Center of the Universe

After a great dinner with Al Goldfarb, who is responsible, after all, for getting me to NYC and beginning this theatre madness about a dozen years ago, I visited the Abbey Theatre for Sam Shepherd's Curse of the Starving Class. I was not keen on this kind of play my first night, since I was dead tired from the trip and the time change, but I wanted to make sure I did not miss a visit to the historic Abbey.

In some ways, the Abbey was disappointing. I knew it had been renovated, but I was not expecting an interior that had no real hint of history or age, and the house was quite small.

Seated next to me was a young man who is studying acting, and who spent about 6 months last year in Chicago. So I spend one day in this country, have extended conversations with four strangers, and they all have close ties to Chicago?? Anyway, it was great talking to this guy, who is also a musician, and I would have invited him for a drink had I not been so beat.

About 20 minutes in to the performance, I realized I was more or less the only person laughing in the theatre. Now, I'm not a laugh out louder at the theatre by nature, but I have learned over the years at ISU to make more noise when I am enjoying a show, as the actors really like it/need it. At first I thought perhaps Shepherd's references were too specifically American for the audience, then it dawned on me that every Brit actor whom I have heard interviewed about performing on Broadway talks about how much more vocal American audiences are. I'm anxious to see more theatre here to see if I have similar experiences with audiences at other shows/venues.

And then it struck me like fresh water: I've just experienced something new, I've just learned something. It was glorious. At other times I thought how odd it was to be in Dublin watching a play about American masculinity, and the specifically American poor in the changing landscape of the west/the family farm. And no, I'm not buying that "good theatre or writing is universal" crap.

The Abbey is across the Liffey river from my hotel, which the music and noise outside at 2:30 am as I write this reminds me is right in Temple Bar. As I walked back (found my hotel without asking directions or needing to retrace my steps), there were people everywhere, and the river was lovely. It is a warm clear night. I realized I tense a bit whenever I pass groups of men, which I also do in the States, especially if they've clearly been drinking. I'd best quickly get used to this, as the street is full of groups of people. That probably seems obvious, but what I mean is actual groups of 4 or 5 or 6 seem to be more the norm than couples or folks walking around alone. I noted that this afternoon too, so I don't think it is just a Friday night phenom. More on this later, I imagine, as I've just started to mull this in relation to the work done in American Sociology about 15 years ago regarding the decline in public space for teens, especially males, in the US.







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Location:Exchequer St,Dublin,Ireland