“In the beginning there was Word”

I am delighted to have been chosen to read from my work at Dublin Castle as part of ‘National Heritage Week’. The event is called “In the beginning there was Word” and takes place this coming Monday evening (the 24^th) 6pm-7.30pm.

I will be doing my bit in the underground ruins of the castle which contains part of the 10^th century Viking town defence bank. (Images attached) Should be really cool, excited to be showcasing my work in such an important historical site.

Not sure how the event is going to unfold, there will be all sorts of other people giving talks at various different spots in the castle. Its free admission. If you want to come along, you can call up and book, or just turn up at 6pm (at the Chapel Royal Entrance) and say you are my guest.

The Ha’penny

The Ha’penny.

Marino

A passionate kiss between us before she boarded the bus

I could feel the scorn from the driver as he gave her that

‘Are you getting on or what’ head movement

She sat at the back, on the lower deck

I waited until the bus pulled away before I left

“I love you” “I love you too” “You’re so funny” “So are you”

I like cinnamon lattes, as does she

I can hold a comfortable silence for a long time without feeling anxious or unsettled,

she can too

Her father is from the same area as my late father

He said they knew each other a little growing up in Marino

I don’t believe he’s telling the truth

We haven’t had our first argument yet

Together nearly two years and not a cross word

I thought this fact strange and brought it to her attention

“We’re both easy going level headed people”

“Neither one of us likes conflict. It’s probably no coincidence that we found each other”

So why all this doubt I wonder?

Is it just me?

I had become quite comfortable with the notion of ending up a lonely old cynic

‘Rather cool’

She seems to have ruined that possible eventuality for me

So what am I left with?

A simple smile from her can light up my day

I miss her when we’re apart,

terribly if it’s for more than a few days

I’m happier,

it’s no coincidence,

it’s down to her

Centre Half

Put your foot in, don’t back off

tackle him, don’t let him into the box

Their shouts always fierce, ferocious

This time my mind is relaxed,

my body responding, my patience unshakable

He swerved to the left, into my path

I moved in, relieving him of the football

I was the last man, only my self to depend on

I chose to play my own game

To marshal my own defence

Get your act together, get a job, you’re not getting any younger

Thirty five, now calling yourself a Writer

Half your life is over and your friends encourage you to falter

Resist dear boy, ignore that jealousy and spite

Let your heart rest assured that it is in the right

Perhaps half my life may be over but I have never been more centred

If my plans swerve to the left I am in a position to counter

I have stopped listening to bullying voices, internal and external

My inner light is shining bright, my hope is eternal

I am my own last man

scalded by a harsh educator

I am a solid centre half

and I am a worthy Writer

The Twang Man. A radio play by Kenneth Nolan

“You know the Baggs family have been in the ‘rag and bone’ trade in Dublin for nearly 200 years… Right back to my great great great great grandfather Michael, who rumour has it used to court the one and only Molly Malone herself.”

A radio play written & directed by Kenneth Nolan. Recorded in the studios of Dublinsouth fm.

Cast: Conor Flanagan as Johnny Twang (The Twang Man)

Zara Burdon Yeates as Issy Midge (As fair as any a Midge)

Kenneth Nolan as Mickey Baggs (The Poor Oul Gather Em-Up)

Camillus John as Ceannach (Stoney) Pockets

And Daniel Wade as Zozimus

Sound: Rob Curry and Paul Walshe

Dublin South Theatre Radio.

Here is the full broadcast of Dublin South Theatre Radio which was aired on Tuesday June 23rd. The broadcast is 1 hour long and contains ‘The Outer Darkness’ written and directed by Daniel Wade and ‘The Twang Man’ written and directed by Kenneth Nolan. My play comes on in the second half. Both Daniel and I are interviewed individually before our respective plays are aired.

My first radio play. Check it out next Tuesday.

‘The Twang Man’

will be broadcast as part of a double header,

alongside 

‘The Outer Darkness’ by Daniel Wade,

on Tuesday the 23^rd of June at 7pm.

Tune into Dublinsouth 93.9fm.

or logon to Dublinsouthfm.ie and click ‘listen live’.

Press Release: The Twang Man

Dublin South Theatre Radio, present ‘The Twang Man’
a play for radio, written and directed by Kenneth Nolan.

Nolan’s play is a dramatization of the iconic Dublin Folktale/Street Ballad of the same name. The play is set in the year 1981. Issy is a young Dublin woman whose desire to marry her rogue boyfriend Johnny is regularly frustrated. Johnny, a soldier in the Irish Army becomes greatly affected emotionally by events he experiences while serving as a peace-keeper in Lebanon.  A hapless ‘Rag and Bone man’ gets caught in the middle.

‘The Twang Man’ will be broadcast as part of a double header,alongside  ‘The Outer Darkness’ by Daniel Wade, on Tuesday the 23^rd of June at 7pm. Tune into Dublinsouth 93.9fm. or logon to Dublinsouthfm.ie and click ‘listen live’.

Comments:

 ‘Nolan is a fresh new voice, an up and coming sensation of original talent taking inspirations from the seeds given of older and more distant generations of Irish writers and themes. A sometime stand-up comedian, a performance poet and story teller of great skill. Nolan’s work has been widely published in his home town of Dublin. He is a regular on the Dublin performance scene.’ Michael J. Whelan MA Poet, Historian, Writer

‘While we were putting together Kenneth’s play ‘The Twang Man’, Kenneth had said to me that “he felt like he was waiting in the Rotunda, like an expectant father for his first child to be born”….. excited, apprehensive and maybe thinking “what if people don’t like my baby!! My play that I worked so hard to complete???” Well the proof is in the pudding as they say!!!  Here is a play that brings the song to life. For a song that is about 3 minutes long Kenneth gives us about 17 minutes of the story that is in The Twang Man. There is romance, jealousy, revenge and regret in this story. Something for everyone’s taste. With interesting characters and a little bit of comedy.  Kenneth brought together a group of actors who looked like they enjoyed working on the play. I really enjoyed working with Kenneth putting in all the sound effects. It was great to see it all come together. I can’t wait for Kenneth’s next play….stay tuned.’  Rob Curry, Sound Engineer

‘I got a late call-up for my mini-sausage (no ketchup required) in Kenneth Nolan’s play ‘The Twang Man’ and enjoyed it immensely. The process of recording it blew my brains out and smeared them over the four sound-proofed, yet cozy Dublin South fm radio station walls. Up with this sort of thing is what I say; more radio plays by Kenneth Nolan please kind sir!  If there’s only one radio play you listen to in your life then make it this one. It’s all good. Even the singing.’  Camillus John, (Stoney Pockets)

 ‘I knew Ken was very passionate about this particular story and when he asked me to play Johnny, I immediately said yes.’ Conor Flanagan (Johnny Twang)

‘As a Dubliner born and bred, I have always been enamoured by the myths and legends of the place. ‘Raised on songs and stories’ as they say. There are some great characters to call upon for us writers. From the more well-known like Molly Malone, to lesser known characters like Zozimus. I first heard the tale of ‘The Twang Man’ in song form as performed by the Dubliners.

The original story was authored in the early nineteenth century and is accredited to Michael Moran of Blackpitts Dublin, aka Zozimus/’The Blind Bard of the Liberties’. It appears, at first, to be an inconsequential jaunty little sing-along. Though it is actually a cautionary tale. It is the telling of a vicious murder motivated by jealousy and madness.  I wanted to bring the story into the modern day, but I needed to keep a ‘days of yore’ atmosphere. I settled on the 1980s.

The decade lends itself to the notion of simpler times and also coincided with the formative years of my childhood. It’s a decade that holds a fund of creative mysticism for me. The process of getting the play ready for recording and finding the right people to play the roles was difficult but always enjoyable. I am very thankful to all who took part in making this happen. I couldn’t have asked for more from the hugely talented people who performed in the production, gifting their time and talent to me for no fee. The play wouldn’t have come together without the hard work of engineer Rob Curry. I also need to thank Dublinsouthfm for the opportunity and platform to make ‘The Twang Man’. I hope this dramatization does the original justice and audiences will enjoy listening to it’ Kenneth Nolan Writer/Director The Twang Man.

Cast:

Conor Flanagan as Johnny Twang (The Twang Man)

Zara Burdon Yeates as Issy Midge (As fair as any a Midge)

Kenneth Nolan as Mickey Baggs (The Poor Oul Gather Em-Up)

Camillus John as Ceannach (Stoney) Pockets

and

Daniel Wade as Zozimus

Sound:

Rob Curry and Paul Walshe

Additional sound effects were kindly provided by freesfx UK.

Contact:

Twitter: Kenneth Nolan (@KNolanWriter)

Blog:  kennethnolan6.wordpress.com

Dreams of a Life

So what did you speak of with Mr. Mandela in those few fleeting moments?
A handshake offered from him and a beaming smile did you return?

I wonder, did you register any lasting impression with the great man.
For how long did he gaze at your caramel brown beauty.

Did fate find you more deserving of that encounter than your arrogant companion,
for this is no coincidence I am sure.

If only Mandela could have visited you in that lonely bedsit in the weeks before you died. He may have recited ‘Henley’s Invictus’ to you,
then you might have taken tea together and discussed the wonders of that poem.
Those verses may have inspired you to stoicism as it did he and I.

Perhaps then I wouldn’t be contemplating the Horror
of your body decomposing
and becoming as one with your couch
before disintegrating.
Leaving behind a belatedly questioning community
and your skeletal remains.

Your television, on continuously for three years,
how many souls crossed your path,
did none of them jump through the screen like you did from my TV.

Who would have thought that an apparent free electricity supply,
an absentee landlord and the indifference of your fellow Londoners
would offer such an indictment of a dislocated society.

I never met you Joyce
but I’m sure you were much more than an emotionally retarded battered woman.
I noticed wisdom in your eyes.
The wisdom that can only come from a long-term relationship with despair.

It is true for some of us that our next of kin is our bank manager.
Was this an off the cuff quip
or were you being morbidly insightful?

They speculated that you may have been abused as a child.
No evidence was presented so I will not believe it to be true,
although I do believe that you knew a constant sorrow.

Could I have helped you in your final moments in 2003?
I’m not sure.
Back then I was young, selfish and stupid.
I’d probably just have marveled at the thought of you in that powder blue rubber dress.

Why did you leave when you did?
Was your fate determined by a malevolent visitor?
Did your body give way or was it your spirit?

You, so independent, a nomad,
you must always keep moving
I understand if you grew weary of this endless journey of obedient sufferance.

Did you have dreams of a life Joyce or was your only dream to get out of life?
Wherever you are now
I hope you are happy, well treated and at peace.