''Dublin Oldschool'' is a 2018 film starring
Emmet Kirwan,
Ian Lloyd Anderson,
Seana Kerslake and
Sarah Greene The film was directed by Dave Tynan
that debuted in 2014.
Plot
Jason is an aspiring DJ in
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
who is addicted to
narcotic
The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "I make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiates ...
s. He later meets his brother Daniel, an educated heroin addict without a home. The two men reconnect during a weekend. Jason continually runs into his double, who has his phone. He attempts to connect with this seemingly secondary self, but is consistently thwarted in his efforts. At the end of the play, time doubles back on itself, and Jason seems to be reliving the day again.
Play
The play premiered in 2014. Both Kirwan and Anderson prefer acting on stage than acting in a film.
It won the Best Fringe Performers Award at the Tiger
Dublin Fringe Festival
The Dublin Fringe Festival is an annual curated arts festival in Dublin, Ireland focusing mainly on theatre. The festival allows artists to submit their work via an application which is subsequently reviewed by the programme manager. The festiva ...
. The play was shown at the
Project Arts Centre
Project Arts Centre is a multidisciplinary arts centre based in Temple Bar, Dublin, which hosts visual arts, theatre, dance, music, and performance.
History
Project Arts Centre was founded by Jim FitzGerald and Colm O'Briain in 1967 after a th ...
twice. The stage version was characterized by a highly physical stage presence, an almost complete lack of set, and the use of lighting to denote changes in space and time.
Paul Taylor, writing for ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' gave a positive review of its 2017 run at the National Theatre in London saying, "Emmet Kirwan's two-hander, starring himself as Jason, a wannabe DJ and Ian Lloyd Anderson, as his long-lost drug addict brother, is highly charged theatre."
Michael Billington of ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' gave a negative review of the same run at the
National Theatre saying, "If Kirwan can harness his verbal power, he may yet write a play that offers more than a sensory impression."
Film release
The film was released on 29 June 2018 in Ireland theatres. The play's writer, Emmet Kirwan, plays the role of Jason and
Ian Lloyd Anderson plays the role of Daniel. It is directed by Dave Tynan. The film expands on the two character play with added characters including
Sarah Greene as Jason's friend Lisa and
Seana Kerslake as Jason's former girlfriend.
Kirwan stated he hopes that the film will foster awareness of the homeless and drug addicts.
Screen Ireland Not to be confused with Northern Ireland Screen.
Fís Éireann / Screen Ireland, formerly known as Bord Scannán na hÉireann or the Irish Film Board, is Ireland's state development agency for the Irish film, television and animation industry. ...
and
Windmill Lane Pictures helped with the production. The film was released on DVD and on demand on 9 November 2018 in Ireland and on 11 November 2018 in the United Kingdom.
Paul Whitington of the ''
Irish Independent
The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper
A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray backgrou ...
'' gave the film a negative review that states, "Tynan's film is laden down with aimless chatter, and its plot meanders drearily towards a country rave that seems curiously old-fashioned, and feels like a piece of Dublin's past, not its present."
Film cast
*
Calum Jess as Young Jason
*
Malcolm Denby as Young Daniel
*
Emmet Kirwan as Jason
*
Ryan Farrell as Young Boy
*
Libby Conway Dunne as Young Girl
*
Stephen Jones as Bobby
*
Liam Heslin as Dave the Rave
*
Ciaran Grace as Glen
*
Mark O'Halloran as Bates
*
Ian Lloyd Anderson as Daniel
*
Mark O'Rowe
Mark O'Rowe is an Irish playwright and screenwriter.
Life
Mark O'Rowe was born in 1970 in Dublin, Ireland, to parents Hugh and Patricia O'Rowe (to whom he dedicated his 1999 play, ''Howie the Rookie''). He grew up in Tallaght, a working-class ...
as Man with Cat
*
Sarah Greene as Lisa
*
Leah Minto as Aisling
*
Aaron Heffernan as Aaron
*
Seána Kerslake
Seána Kerslake (; born 21 October 1990) is an Irish actress. She is known for portraying the role of Aisling O'Dowd in RTÉ2 comedy-drama '' Can't Cope, Won't Cope'' (2016–2018). In 2017, she was named one of sixteen young actors by Screen Int ...
as Gemma
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dublin Oldschool
2018 films
2018 comedy-drama films
Films about drugs
Films about heroin addiction
Films set in Dublin (city)
Films shot in Dublin (city)
Irish comedy-drama films
Irish plays
Theatre about drugs
2014 plays
2010s Irish films