History: Artistic Directors - Kenny Ireland 1993-2003
When Kenny Ireland succeeded Ian Wooldridge in 1993, he came with a considerable reputation as one of the original Directors of the Young Lyceum, since when he had worked mainly in London. During this time Kenny had become a well-known actor with some of the most prestigious companies in Britain, such as the RSC and the National Theatre. Kenny was also a founder member and close associate of Howard Barker and the Wrestling School, directing work that was keenly admired in Britain and Europe. He was nominated Best Director in Martini Regional Award for his production of Howard’s Victory and his interpretation of Oedipus at the Contact Theatre was cited for the Best Director Award by the Manchester Evening News. During this time, he had become known to many of the most radical writers, sought- after designers, and lighting experts, as well as some of the finest actors of the modern stage. To appoint Kenny Ireland as Artistic Director of the Royal Lyceum in 1993 was indeed a brilliant ‘coup de theatre’ for Edinburgh and for Scotland.
Kenny was responsible for some of the outstanding productions in the Lyceum’s recent history. Always excited by a challenge, adventurous in his programming, and with a wide knowledge of British theatre, Kenny was able to bring to the Lyceum many celebrated actors and designers with whom he had worked.
He always aspired to create a theatre that was visually stunning, sensual and sensuous. He believed passionately in the truth and the magic of theatre, and this philosophy could be seen in the plays he directed and produced.
As the terrified sentries chattered with fear and cold, the castle ramparts of Elsinore soared high above the audience as the haunting image of Brian Cox as Hamlet’s ghost was projected into the fog of night. Oberon and his mischievous Puck played their erotic Midsummer tricks on the benighted young lovers as they dream in an enchanted wood made with strips of rubber. Shylock walked a precarious tightrope of boards slippery with the rising tide of the Venetian canals. Macbeth was played against the towering monolithic rocks of a barbarous Scottish landscape. Romeo and Juliet declared their love and died in the internecine war of Serb and Croat in bomb-strewn Sarajevo.
Kenny excelled in bringing Greek tragedy to the stage. Tom Mannion as Oedipus scattered the promenade audience in the stalls as he is made to recognise the awful truth about who he is, and the crimes he has unwittingly committed. The stalls and the circle were rebuilt in the style of a Greek amphitheatre for Edward Morgan’s translation of Phaedre in the most radical and exciting theatre design the Lyceum has ever seen.
There was a host of memorable productions during Kenny’s time. Amongst others, I recall Brian Cox’s The Master Builder, and Bill Paterson in A Mongrel’s Heart; ambitious productions such as Brecht’s Mother Courage and Caucasian Chalk Circle, Farquhar’s The Recruiting Officer; Edinburgh International Festival productions of T.S Eliot’s The Cocktail Party, and Arden’s Armstrong’s Last Good Night; modern Irish plays Juno and the Paycock, Playboy of the Western World, Dancing at Lughnasa and Translations and for the EIF, Tom Murphy’s Too Late for Logic; wonderful Scottish classics, such as The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and The Steamie, and, unforgettable, Communicado’s Cyrano, with Tom Mannion in Eddie Morgan’s sublime translation, and the irrepressible Liz Lochhead’s great play, Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off; contentious plays like Mamet’s Oleanna and Glengarry GlenRoss, and that great American musical, Guys and Dolls. These are just a few memories of a stimulating decade in the Lyceum’s recent past.
Kenny was often in demand as a director in other parts of Britain and in Europe, but he was confident enough to give the Lyceum stage in his absence to two Scottish actors who had both graced the stage for many years. As directors, Muriel Romanes and Tony Cownie have continued to raise the standards of the Lyceum to an unprecedented level, directing with a refreshing bravura and vivacity which promises well for the future of Scottish Theatre.
With the indelible memories of Howard Barker’s Victory and Peter Arnott’s The Breathing House firing the imagination, Kenny Ireland left the Lyceum with full houses and an expectant audience who now warmly welcome Mark Thomson, the new Artistic Director of the Royal Lyceum Theatre Company.
Mike Ridings 2005