Abstract
This chapter considers the critically overlooked work of Corcadorca Theatre Company. Focusing on their production of Ray Scannell’s Losing Steam (2004), Anne Etienne uses new material to highlight aspects of creation and reception. The study explores Scannell’s political play as a unique instance of Corcadorca’s interests in site-specific performance and development of new writing. Her analysis permits to revisit the economic history of Ireland, to look at a key production of the 2004 Cork Midsummer Festival, and to outline Corcadorca’s artistic vision.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Works Cited
Andrews, Rachel. Rev. of Losing Steam. Sunday Tribune, 20 June 2004: 38. Corcadorca Theatre Company archive. Press cuttings.
Creed, Tom. ’20 years a-growing.’ Youth Drama Ireland (2011/12): 18–20. Web. http://www.nayd.ie/content/files/PatKiernan.pdf. 23 June 2014.
‘Dunlop’s Last Gasp.’ Irish Examiner, 13 Sep. 2008. Web. http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/dunlops-last-gasp-72157.html. 20 Mar. 2015.
Etienne, Anne. ‘Challenging the Auditorium: Spectatorship(s) in “Off-site” performances.’ Journal of Contemporary Drama in English 4–1 (2016): 74–89.
FitzGerald, Garret. ‘Closure of Ford Plant in Cork: Statement by Taoiseach.’ Dáil Eireann Debate, Vol. 347, No. 1, 18 Jan. 1984: 217–220. Web. http://debates.oireachtas.ie/dail/1984/01/18/00019.asp. 20 Mar. 2015.
FitzGibbon, Ger, Ben Hennessy, and Pat Kiernan. ‘Ben Hennessy, Pat Kiernan and GerFitzGibbon in Conversation.’ Theatre Talk. Voices of Irish Theatre Practitioners. Eds. Chambers, Lilian, Ger FitzGibbon and Eamonn Jordan. Dublin: Carysfort Press, 2001. 167–180.
Grene, Nicholas. The Politics of Irish Drama. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Heylin, Liam. ‘Corcadorca’s Losing Steam a tribal event.’ Evening Echo, 18 June 2004. Corcadorca Theatre Company archive. Press cuttings. n.p.
Hopkin, Alannah. Rev. of Losing Steam. Irish Examiner, 22 June 2004: 14.
Keating, Sara. ‘What site-specific really means.’ Irish Theatre Magazine, 26 Sep. 2009. Web. http://www.irishtheatremagazine.ie/Features/Current/What-site-specific-really-means.aspx. 11 Apr. 2014.
Kelleher, Julie. Personal interview. 25 Feb. 2015.
Kiernan, Pat. ‘On directing site-specific work.’ Perforum series. Theatre Development Centre. 27 Jan. 2016.
———. Personal interview. 27 Jan. 2015.
Lehmann, Hans-Thies. Postdramatic Theatre. Oxford: Routledge, 2006.
Leland, Mary. Rev. of Losing Steam. The Irish Times, 19 June 2004: 2. Corcadorca Theatre Company archive. Press cuttings.
O’Connell, Brian. ‘Catching the many shades of Ray.’ Irish Examiner, 7 Sep. 2004. Corcadorca Theatre Company archive. Press cuttings. n.p.
O’Riordan, Alan. ‘Looking back at Corcadorca’s influence on theatre in Cork and beyond.’ Irish Examiner, 29 Apr. 2016. Web. http://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/artsfilmtv/looking-back-at-corcadorcas-influence-on-theatre-in-cork-and-beyond-395594.html. 20 June 2016.
Pavis, Patrice. The Routledge Dictionary of Performance and Contemporary Theatre. Abingdon and New York: Routledge, 2016.
Pearson, Mike and Michael Shanks. Theatre/Archaeology. Abingdon: Routledge, 2001.
Pilkington, Lionel. Theatre and Ireland. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.
Reason, Matthew. Documentation, Disappearance and the Representation of Live Performance. Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006.
Sauter, Willmar. The Theatrical Event. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2000.
Scannell, Raymond. Losing Steam. Unpublished scripts, 2004. TS.
———. ‘The Making of Losing Steam.’ Programme note, 2004.
Sheridan, Colette. ‘Full steam ahead for Marina trip to darker days in Cork.’ Irish Examiner, 17 June 2004. Corcadorca Theatre Company archive. Press cuttings. n.p.
Singleton, Brian. ‘Politicizing Performance: ANU Productions and Site-Specific Theater.’ Breac: A Digital Journal of Irish Studies. 10 July 2014. Web. http://breac.nd.edu/articles/48940-politicizing-performance-anu-productions-and-site-specific-theater. 22 May 2016.
Turner, Cathy. ‘Palimpsest or Potential Space? Finding a Vocabulary for Site-Specific Performance.’ New Theatre Quarterly 20.4 (November 2004): 373–390.
Wilkie, Fiona. ‘Mapping the Terrain: a Survey of Site-Specific Performance in Britain.’ New Theatre Quarterly 18.2 (May 2002): 140–160.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Etienne, A. (2017). Slump and Punk in Ray Scannell’s Losing Steam: Envisioning Corcadorca. In: Etienne, A., Dubost, T. (eds) Perspectives on Contemporary Irish Theatre. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59710-2_15
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59710-2_15
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-59709-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-59710-2
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)