Tipperary actor Éanna Grogan on the projects he's involved in at the Junction Arts Festival
The Clonmel Junction Arts Festival takes place in the town during July 4 to July 13.
Clonmel-based actor Éanna Grogan speaks with Tipperary Live about his upcoming performances at The Junction Arts Festival in Clonmel.
The festival which begins today starts with Éanna performing a play he's been involved in for a few years now, called 'Keeping Vigil'.
“The play started out as a theatre piece, and then covid hit and we had to adapt it to be a zoom play.
“We were asked to do something for The Junction Arts Festival, and we said we’d love to bring the play back and perform the full version that we always wanted to do, but could never.
“It’s about three old friends, on the eve of a funeral, who come together to keep vigil over the body. It’s very very Irish.
“You have three people with all of these complicated relationships confined to the one room, and all of the tensions of the characters are bound to resurface at some stage.”
The play was written by Oonagh Wall, who is the producer of Anseo Anois Theatre. Oonagh has written a number of plays for the theatre company, Éanna says.
“The company was founded in 2019 by myself, Amy Kidd and Oonagh.
“Amy is also a graduate of the Lir Academy, we graduated the same year from the school.
“The play itself took place in a pub, we don’t really have a theatre that works for new shows.
“We have a beautiful old listed building, The White Memorial Theatre, but it’s old. There needs to be an injection of support if we want to keep the arts scene alive in towns like this.”
The festival in Clomel takes place until July 13, and Éanna takes us through what other things he is involved in.
“I’m also working on a community project with ‘Asylum Productions’ as part of the arts festival in Clonmel.
“Donal Gallagher and Medb Lambert had the idea for the project, after doing a previous project a few years ago called ‘Everything must go’.
“It was a big community engagement project where they took over the old Superquinn in Clonmel, which is still derelict. They put on a piece there for the town, it was really highlighting dereliction issues in small towns and the effects it has on people.”
Donal and Medb have come back to this festival to do a work in progress project, for something that they want to do at the next Junction Arts Festival.
“This project is called ‘Gutted’. They have been given a building, Annerly Jewellers, which is on the main street in Clonmel.
“The building is derelict and they will be engaging people during the festival and asking them questions about how they feel about their main thoroughfare, where do you see Clonmel in the future, all questions like that,” says Éanna.
The duo will gather all of this information collected during this year’s festival, and use it to help create the next big project that they want to do, to showcase at next year’s festival.
Gutted will take place on July 9, 10 and 11.
During the festival on these dates, people will be invited into Annerley Jewellers old shop to answer questions.
Éanna says he is also involved in a third and final thing at this year’s festival.
“I’m developing a project titled ‘For The Record’ with actor and DJ, Paul Sheehan.
“This piece is made in response to the growing dereliction problem, and the effects that the closure of social spaces has on people.
“One of the last nightclub venues in the town, O’Keefe’s, was closed down this year. Now suddenly, that generation is faced with having to get a bus forty minutes away to have those same experiences you and I would have taken for granted. It’s just a very different town now and we really wanted to do something that examined this, to engage with it and question it.
“We really wanted to do something to give back to the people, leave something for the record. That will be running all throughout the festival. We have been given a derelict building on Parnell Street, and we’ve transformed it. It will be open throughout the festival, from July 4 to July 13.
“We’re so lucky with The Junction Festival. With the way they’ve been able to organise these derelict properties and give them back to artists, give them back to the town, that they’ll be used for people during the festival. It’s really really amazing.
"Hopefully that spirit can continue,” concludes Éanna.
Lineup and event details can be found on the instagram @onemorechoon.