Painters, writers, dancers and those interested in artistic pursuits are attracted to west Cork.
Bantry has never had a dramatic tradition, now a Dutch couple, Piet and Ellie Kamerman have established the United Interest In Theatre (UNIT) group in the town. They have been lucky enough to be given the use of the former schoolhouse at Gortycloona for rehearsals. With the help of volunteers the building is being converted into a theatre to seat between 80 to 100 people.
Instead of choosing the usual plays for amateurs, the Kamermans have selected 'Lovers' by Brian Friel; ‘Miss Julie’ by August Strindberg and Samuel Beckett's ‘Krapp's Last Tape’ for their first productions. Piet Kamerman explains the background to this choice. He was invited to speak to members of the Bantry youth club about drama. He discovered little was known about the Irish plays in international drama. This surprised him, as he believes Irish writers are up there among the best internationally.
Ellie Kamerman observes,
You were amazed that knowing this country had brought forth such great dramatic authors, you know that there was really little done anyway in this community in the dramatic field.
Their choice of productions is also influenced by having a small cast as well as the stage size. For Ellie Kamerman,
It’s a pity that there is only a couple of Irish writers that have written plays with small casts in them, so we were a bit restricted in that way.
Piet Kamerman is well known on the Dutch stage and television scene, but he is now working with several people who have never acted before. He sees this as positive, as his cast are not used to a certain technical style and can be trained. His approach of working is to explain and inspire his actors, which he thinks brings the best out them.
Once they get the first production off the ground, Ellie Kamerman expects more people will be interested in joining UNIT and the group with prosper. There is a confidence that UNIT will continue after the first production, and they can really establish themselves.
I believe in it, otherwise I wouldn’t be interested at all.
Further west in Schull, another couple, writer Charles Fenn and painter Mair Lewis, have begun a project which could become a haven for artists. The Standing Stone is their purpose-built waterside house, in which they plan to host artists and writers who need to get away from it all and work in peace.
It's not limited to artists and writers; other people who feel that they are weighed down too much with the problems of existence can also come here.
Residents in The Standing Stone are given a working space, facilities and equipment. They stay for a couple of months and work on their projects. The project is not fully operational, but to date they have hosted four or five people, among them silk screen print artist Winn Fennell, who appreciated having the space to work. She thinks an artist hub is a great idea,
It makes a centre, a nucleus it attracts people, it's reassuring.
While Winn Fennell likes to work alone, she finds meeting other like minded people stimulating. It is important to have the opportunity to discuss her work.
A 'Newsbeat' report broadcast on 19 November 1970. The reporter is Cathal O'Shannon.
