|
The IFI presents "A TRIBUTE TO DEIRDRE O'CONNELL" SUNDAY 20th JUNE, 2010, I P.M. |
|
|
|
|
Thursday, 17 June 2010 |
|
The IFI will present a special screening of the feature film documentary "HOLD THE PASSION" on the 20th June, 2010 to commemorate and pay tribute to the life and work of the great actor and teacher Deirdre O'Connell, founder of Dublin's Focus Theatre. The documentary film chronicles the life and work of Deirdre O'Connell, and gives a unique insight into the history and achievements of the Focus Theatre over the decades.
Speakers at this special screening will include actor Tom Hickey, Michael D. Higgins T.D., and the film's director Ronan O'Leary.
The documentary film "HOLD THE PASSION" traces the history of the Focus theatre and of Deirdre's own artistic journey, which began in New York in the early 1960's, where she studied with the legendary Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio. Deirdre then travelled to Ireland in 1963, determined to introduce the ground-breaking techniques of Strasberg and of Stanislavski to a new generation of Irish actors.
The Focus Theatre and Acting Studio that Deirdre set up in 1963 has provided training to a whole generation of Irish actors: from Gabriel Byrne, Tom Hickey, Johnny Murphy, Olwen Fouere, Paul Bennett, to Elizabeth Moynihan and Karl Shiels. And many young playwrights found in the Focus Theatre an encouraging training ground for their emerging skills.
This documentary film, which explores the world of Deirdre O'Connell, is a unique record of her life and work and of the cultural life of Dublin since the 60's.
Tickets are available from the Irish Film Institute at (01) 6793477. Normal admission prices apply.
|
