Cheeky, bawdy, playful and poignant, WHAT WE’RE MADE OF comprises three one-act plays that question who we think we are, challenge what we think we know and celebrate what it means to be alive.

Tinderbox Theatre Company taps into the current feeling of global upheaval that permeates our lives today in its new production at the Crescent Arts Centre.

Directed by Patrick J O’Reilly, appointed as Tinderbox Artistic Director earlier this year, WHAT WE’RE MADE OF promises to be visceral, powerful and unforgettable theatre. Supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, the three plays feature an incredible ensemble of players – Nicky Harley, Rhodri Lewis, Patrick McBrearty and Kerri Quinn.

HISTORY, Daragh Carville’s new play goes straight to the heart of love, and observes how we long for a passion stronger than ourselves.

In a quiet café on a normal day, Emma drops a bombshell that rocks the very foundations of Declan’s happy, settled life. Passions that were never allowed to blossom are suddenly acknowledged and there is nowhere to hide.

HIATUS is a collaboration between playwrights from Northern Ireland and Croatia (John McCann, Jonathan Bailie, Vedrana Klepica, Ivor Martinić) and this unique polyvocal and multilingual theatre event is unapologetic, theatrically inventive and entertaining.

A photograph captures a moment forever. A song invokes memories of a simpler time. Stories are created, passed on and turned into history. We hold on to what we believe, as the world we know is twisted to breaking point.

And then it all shatters – fragments of lives hurtling through the world trying to find a foothold anywhere they can and are allowed.

This promises to be an explosive piece of theatre that asks how we hold on to who we are in a world that is falling apart around us.

What We're Made Of

HEN is a captivating solo performance that challenges how and why we define gender and takes us on a journey of new perspectives and new possibilities.

Hen’s world is full of colour, play and wonder. It’s an extraordinary place with no rules or limitations until suddenly someone is watching Hen’s every move. Then there are the others, the ones with opinions, certainties and very particular ways. Pushed to defend the known world, Hen raucously fights back with hilarious consequences.

The creative team behind WHAT WE’RE MADE OF includes Jen Shepherd (Producer), Hanna Slättne and Katarina Pejović (Dramaturgs), Katie Richardson (Composer), Niall Rea (Designer), and Carrie Davenport who photographed the production’s striking poster images.

Director Patrick J O’Reilly brings a fresh and innovative approach to framing individual stories against a backdrop of world events.

“The style of What We’re Made Of will be anarchic and punchy,” said Patrick. “It’s very much in keeping with the new flavour of Tinderbox – designed to arouse suspicion and pique curiosity. The three plays tackle love, loss, gender and survival, and explore how music and images evoke memories and emotions.

HIATUS started out as a response to the refugee crisis but evolved to become about Europe more generally. It looks at the parallels between two post-conflict societies, and examines the impact on what it’s like to leave your own country and arrive in a new one.”

WHAT WE’RE MADE OF is at the Crescent Arts Centre in Belfast from Thursday 15th to Friday 23rd September at 7.30pm (preview on Wednesday 14th) with matinees on 17th & 18th at 3.00pm. Tickets are available from Crescent Arts Centre by phoning 028 9024 2338 or online at www.crescentarts.org.

 

Laura Caldwell

Author: Laura Caldwell

Hi, I'm Laura. I'm 30 years old and have a degree in Journalism with Photo-Imaging at the University of Ulster. I have an undying love for Belfast and all that it has to offer, an undying love for sleeping, Tegan and Sara, trashy tv shows, foreign snack-foods and being irresponsible with money. I also quite like origami, reading, jazz, hip-hop, dubstep, anything acoustic and Food Network TV. I've written for The Big List, Culture NI, Chatterbox and The Echo, as well as writing for BBC Across the Line.