Spotlight
A deep dive into the artists and organisations creating experiences for all ages nationwide
Brought to you by the Arts Council
Spotlight on The Ballad of a Care Centre
Since 2019, artist John Conway has been developing work built around the individual and collective oral histories of older people who attend the Naas Day Care Centre. We asked him to write about this process, and why it’s such a vital part of the Brightening Air | Coiscéim Coiligh programme.
Behind the scenes production shots, taken during the development of The Ballad of a Care Centre
Traditional ballads are typically of unknown authorship, having been passed on orally from one generation to the next: The Ballad of a Care Centre weaves life stories of men and women from the Naas Care of the Aged Day Centre into a new narrative, and tells it to audiences of one using traditional performance and virtual reality.
Originally devised pre-COVID19 as a site specific theatre work for the care setting and based on research from an Age and Opportunity Artist Residency in 2019, Ballad was reimagined to emulate a full theatre experience as a way of rekindling connections with older people who are vulnerable to social isolation and most impacted by cocooning; to bring critically brilliant and accessible art experiences to a community who may be left behind despite a proliferation of online activities, the relaunch of culture and the slow return to relative post-lockdown normality.
Dee Burke, performer in The Ballad of a Care Centre.
Written and directed by John Conway.
Photograph by John Conway
The Process
I begin community art projects with tea and chats. I find this the best way to get insight into the normal things which define and characterise a group of people. It also makes space for participants to trust in my sincere interest in them and my desire to figure out what we might make together, why, and for whom.
My interest in gathering stories was first met with skepticism by some participants: “What good is listening to our stories to anyone?” I believe the value of working together is that we might find out.
Over the months of my residency, we developed a trusting space for sharing which centered around a teapot and a Micheal Tea Higgins tea cozy. The men and women shared their life stories; stories of love and loss, joy and regret; school, work, songs, dances, the loss of life long partners, childbirth and the loss of children, as well as refreshing and unexpected discussions on religion and sexuality.
As the sessions went on, and as a result of the atmosphere we cultivated together, the group began to value each others' stories, and to reevaluate the idea that their own life stories merited being heard. They told me it made them feel like they weren't forgotten. Some shared deeply traumatic experiences for the first time – I didn't solicit these experiences, but participants felt safe and secure and were always treated with respect and dignity. Others re-lived tragic bereavements multiple times over many sessions, either as the result of a diminished memory or simply having an ear to listen empathetically.
Listen
Liam Geraghty, award-winning audio producer of podcasts and radio, has created four special editions of his hugely popular Meet Your Maker series focusing on the experiences within Brightening Air | Coiscéim Coiligh. In this episode, he talks with James Riordan (Ar Ais Arís) and John Conway (The Ballad of a Care Centre) about adventures in Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality in theatre and the arts.
Virtual Reality
The Ballad of a Care Centre uses virtual reality to create a further world inside the performed world of theatre. Conceptually, it plays on repetition and mis-recollection, and uses VR to bring us on an out of body / out of time journey into the mind's eye from the comfort of our chair. The work is not a feel-good retelling of anecdotes but a heartfelt and challenging contemporary theatre work which does not shy away from the difficult material that was shared or the challenges that participants faced in their lives, nor does it underestimate their capacity as a critical audience who are deserving of targeted art works of the highest quality.
“Ultimately the work that emerged from my conversations in the care centre is grounded in these conversations: It is a tribute and an acknowledgement to the audio recorded stories which were shared with me, many of which went previously unacknowledged, or in a typically Irish fashion, were minimised, glossed over, and buried deep down. Though their oral histories live on in aspects of this ballad, sadly, some participants have passed away since the original recordings were made.”
The Ballad of a Care Centre is written and directed by John Conway, and stars Dee Burke and Fionnuala Gygax. It brings together some of Ireland's premier practitioners in socially engaged art (John Conway), documentary theatre (Aisling Byrne), and digital art / VR (Elaine Hoey & NOHO). It is supported by a strong crew which features consultant producer Carolann Courtney O'malley (Kildare Arts Service) and Production manager Stephen Bourke.
Presented as part of Brightening Air | Coiscéim Coiligh brought to you by the Arts Council.
Also supported by Creative Ireland, Kildare Arts Service and Riverbank Arts Centre.
Follow the project's development
About The Ballad of a Care Centre
When: 16 – 20 June
Where: Kildare
Ticketing: Tickets for this experience will be available to an invited audience of previous project participants from Naas Care of the Aged.
