Abbey Theatre Tour, The Sugar Wife, James Joyce Tower Museum, Sandycove—RJ Miller, Michael DeAngelo, Quill Seilhan, Donavan Piccicuto
Thursday 20th
Abbey Theatre Tour
Our main destination last Thursday was the Abbey Theatre. We started the day with a tour of the theatre. There we learned the theatre was founded in 1904 by W.B. Yeats and Lady Gregory, 18 years before Ireland’s independence, to share truly Irish stories. The original building caught fire in 1951 and was rebuilt in a new building finished in 1956.
After learning the history of the building, we were taken inside the main hall. The theatre was small but comfortable, and the acoustics were wonderful. We were brought on stage and were shown the mechanics of the lights. Then, we were taken to the prop table where the props for the show were stored.
Next, we were taken to the room where they store props not needed for this show. The room was tiny but held so many important props for countless shows, including saint statues at the back. Finally, we were taken to the hair and makeup room. There we were shown how fake blood and injuries were done and how wigs were put on.
The Sugar Wife
After a break back at campus it had come time for us to see The Sugar Wife. The play in Quill’s words was “a discussion of the history of Ireland during the abolitionist era, and the reflection of the sugar production and trade dependent on slavery, while also having religious commentary through Quaker lense.” The entire group was immensely impressed with the show, and we left feeling satisfied.
Friday 21st
James Joyce Tower Museum, Sandycove
We headed toward Blackrock on the S6, and once there, we got on the DART. Which is the commuter rail system in Dublin and the surrounding area, heading toward Sandycove & Glasthule. Sandycove is a small seaside town about 20 minutes away from Dublin, it’s got a couple of cute little shops, restaurants, and some beautiful Irish beach houses. Once off the commuter rail, we walked to Sandycove Park where we had a view of Howth Head and the cargo ships passing through the peninsula heading toward Dublin Harbor.
From a first glance at the circular stone structure, you would not be able to imagine any degree of peril could be contained inside. And the exhibits you stumble upon, including a tidy library and replica of a small dining room, are hardly out of the ordinary. It is the staircases holding the rooms together which will most likely intimidate you, for they would be right at home within a medieval dungeon or horror movie. Each stair is a tiny obtuse triangle jutting out toward the end of winding tower, such that the portion closest to the handrail is concurrently the smallest. The staircase winds and coils around the tower like an anaconda around a sizeable prey. And once you reach the top, snap a few pictures and obtain a sense of just how far down you can fall, you must make the entire trek again backwards, minding every precarious step lest you tumble into cold hard stone.
