Dream, Sleep, Connect, Lyric Theatre, Belfast, Preview and Northern Irish Tour Dates
By Conor O’Neill
Dream, Sleep, Connect. Sounds like the name of a Dali painting: one where the mind is fluid and falling in and/or out of a hypnagogic state. But, no, the name is that of C21 Theatre Company’s latest release.
Collaborating with C21 for the sixth time is award winning playwright, Rosemary Jenkinson. To love and be loved is universal. In this digital age almost every need can be catered for via the internet. In Dream, Sleep, Connect, Jenkinson along with C21, the Lyric Theatre and funded by the Arts Council, seeks to poke fun at the precarious world of online dating and hold a lens up to the ‘disconnect’ of modern life.
The two actor show boasts the talents of Maria Connolly and Richard Clements. Clements plays tech worker, Chris, who’s on the look-out for love. Connolly is his boss, Lucy, and also plays the multiple roles of his dates. In his bid to find a date for the upcoming office party, Chris uploads his stats to Tinder. Hope turns to doubt as our lonely heart soon starts to ask, ‘who’s watching who?’.
Writer Jenkinson said: “I’m thrilled to be working with C21 and a brilliant cast to present, Dream, Sleep, Connect, a brand new, contemporary play that tackles the dark side of the computer age and has great fun skewering the digital dating scene.”
The company’s artistic director and director of Dream, Sleep, Connect, Stephen Kelly said: “We at C21 are delighted to be working on another collaboration with Rosemary. This time we are looking at a very topical area within society today. Casting two fantastic performers in Maria and Richard will give our audiences a show to remember. Thanks to the Arts Council of Northern Ireland we can also tour this production right across the country.”
Caoileann Curry-Thompson from the Arts Council stated: “We’re proud to support C21 in presenting this latest work from talented playwright and Arts Council Major Individual Artist awardee, Rosemary Jenkinson.
“This play once again shows that theatre, through the immediacy and intimacy of live performance, is uniquely suited to interrogating and dissecting contemporary life’s most gnarly and complex issues. The Arts Council is committed to ensuring that professional, high quality arts are available to everyone and we’re delighted to support the touring of new work to theatres across the region. I would encourage everyone to go along for a thoroughly entertaining experience.”
If Dream, Sleep, Connect sounds like your cup of tea, tickets are available from the box office. The phone number is 02890 381081 or visit http://www.lyrictheatre.co.uk The play runs from February 18 – 22nd
The tour dates are as follow:
Strule Arts Centre, Omagh, February 26th
Island Arts Centre, Lisburn, February 28th
Cushendall Golf Club, February 29th
Sean Hollywood Arts Centre, Newry, March 3rd
Down Arts Centre, Downpatrick, March 6th
The Marketplace Theatre, Armagh, March 7th
For ticket booking visit http://www.c21theatrecompany.com or contact theatre venue.
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