North Atlantic Skyline - - Photographs from the west of Ireland (Galway, Mayo, Clare, Limerick, Roscommon and even Leitrim)

Half Man, half bicycle

Now take a sheep,' the Sergeant said. 'What is a sheep only millions of little bits of sheepness whirling about and doing intricate convolutions inside the sheep? What else is it but that?'

'That would be bound to make the beast dizzy,' I observed, 'especially if the whirling was going on inside the head as well.'

The Galway Arts Festival is in full swing, and last night, I went to see an evening of music and spoken word, based on The Third Policeman, Flann O'Brien's surreal comic novel. The music was supplied by guitarist Colin Reid, of whom I had not previously heard anything, and the readings were by the actor Stephen Rea.

The first part of the performance consisted of Reid showcasing his forthcoming album This Broken Rapture, with the help of two winsome accompanists on cello and violin. Reid's skill on guitar is beyond question - technically excellent but I must confess to being unmoved by the music. It seemed cold and unemotional. (I should point out that Herself thought it was brilliant and promptly bought a copy of his current album, Tilt, on the way out. It's on heavy rotation in the Monasette household at the moment and will continue to be so until I either grow to like it or the same mysterious fate befalls it that did the Corr's Greatest Hits and the Bridget Jones soundtrack.)

The second, and longer part of the show was the part that I had come for. Alas, I think I was sold a bit of a pup. Colin and his group of musicians (the original three were joined by another celloist and a pianist) would play a bit of music, and then Rea would stand up, and read an excerpt. Rea's readings were excellent - he nailed the nuance and the humour of each excerpt, and frankly, I could have sat there all night and listened to him read the whole book. Unfortunately, Colin and Co. had written music specifically for the readings, and we weren't leaving until we had heard all of it. And there was a lot of it. I have no idea what music would suit The Third Policeman, but Quintet No. 2 wasn't it. It was like listening to the soundtrack of one movie but imagining another.

Not to worry, the evening has made me dig out the book again, and I think it will be my reading for this week. And it has highlighted the dire need for someone to stage a play based on the novel - how about it for the Arts Festival 2004 ?

The show was in the Radisson in Galway - it was delayed due to an power problem (the hotel were blaming the ESB, anyway), and might I commend the ruthless efficiency of the bar staff at the interval (and I mean that as a compliment). We retired to the main bar after the show for a few drinks until we were driven from it by an increasingly "tired and emotional" performance from the guy at the piano. I'm tempted to use the term 'caterwauling' but he was surrounded by women, so what do I know?

As it happens, the BBC are running yet another poll, called The Big Read, which is trying to identify the most favoured books in the UK. There is also a section on Irish writers, and would you believe, The Third Policeman is this week's featured book. You can vote for your favourite here - far be it from me to try to influence your decision.

Posted by Monasette at July 20, 2003 03:43 PM | TrackBack