Playwright and actor Conor Burke introduces his latest work In Praise of Me, You, and All We're Going Through, a comedy about 'the transformative power of not having an iota as to what to do with yourself' which premieres this February at Dublin's Scene + Heard Festival.
Waiting rooms have always intrigued me.
Writing that sentence, I realise that it probably reads as something one would say on a particularly awkward first date, but I stand by my beliefs.
Relatively recently, I was sitting in the waiting room at my doctor's office. I couldn’t help but notice the people I was surrounded by; a woman with a small child, an older gentleman with a walking stick, a teenager glued to their phone. There we all were, having each come from different places, now sharing a space of commonality – all individuals, but each united in getting to the root of our medical issues.
I found myself pondering the fact that despite our differences, life had somehow managed to ensure that we ended up in the same doctor’s surgery on a rainy Friday morning. I remember thinking that my secondary school English teacher would be proud of me for appreciating this definitive - but not totally apparent - juxtaposition.
My new play, In Praise of Me, You, and All We’re Going Through is about two people who meet in the waiting room of their therapist’s office. Although similar in age, the two protagonists have very little else in common – both in personality and perspective. And yet, they find solace in one another via their common denominator.
It could be argued that the narrative abound in the mainstream is that being in your twenties is a time of great joy and excitement. It's when you move to a new city, fall in and out of love several times over, and discover your purpose.
The reality for a lot of us, however, is something entirely different altogether. It can be a decade of overwhelming pathos, anxiety – ridden situations, and deeply regretful choices – all sprinkled with the remorse of painful lessons learned. It could be argued that having the right people around you during this time is not only beneficial, but necessary.
You see, I’ve always felt that there’s something very lovely about meeting people where they’re at – reassuring another that all will be okay. And these two characters, Noah and Hannah, do just that.
'In Praise of Me, You, and All We're Going Through'
It’s not lost on me that, often, artists need people to meet them where they’re at, too – so presenting this work as part of the 2024 Scene + Heard festival feels correct on so many levels.
Debuting a new work is always a daunting experience – there are times when you feel like you don’t have the foundation to support your artistic endeavors, encourage you to take risks, and catch you when you fall. It’s why festivals like Scene + Heard are inherently important to the ecosystem. They create spaces for artists, both emerging and established, to play.
In Praise of Me, You, and All We’re Going Through is a piece not yet realized – it’s a piece that will undoubtedly change. It can be intimidating, but Scene & Heard encourages us to take the first steps onto a stage – out of the waiting room.
In Praise of Me, You, and All We're Going Through is at Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin on February 17th and 18th 2024, as part of the Scene + Heard Festival - find out more here.
