Pat Shortt: “I love grotesque, edgy madness!”
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
My first guest this morning is making his Abbey Theatre debut very soon. Comedian and actor Pat Short, good morning.
Good morning, Dermot. Great to be here. Thank you very much.
I think some people have very, very preconceived ideas or notions of what a play at the National Theatre should be like. I don't think this one is particularly typical of the genre.
This one's different.
It's actually, as I understand it, it's a play based on short stories by Blind Boy, Boat Club. But it's been adapted and directed by Dan Colley for the Abbey.
What is Blindboy Boatclub’s play Animals and why is it described as ‘undirectable’?
So tell us a little bit about it.
Well, look, I think people would be familiar with Blind by Boat Club's podcast, definitely. And his writings, because his books are so very well and his short stories. And he's almost like a Miles and a Coppoline type, you know, writer in that sense that, you know, Flann O'Brien. He's got that great sense of surreal in his writing and very, very, very, very funny character. So it's, yeah, I think I saw where Dan, who adapted it for stage, wrote, it's an undirectable play.
Yeah.
And I kind of, when I read that first, I was going, what's he saying?
And did you think that's right up my street?
Well, I don't, absolutely. I mean, it is, it's a challenge. I take my hat off to him as a director. It's a fantastic, it's so, there's some wonderful, wonderful stuff, material in the play. And how he's going to present it on a stage is definitely challenging, but it's brilliant. Yeah.
I had a quick skim through the initial draft screen and I thought, well, you know, the Abbey has been home to many controversies in its past. Sing, OKC, riots. But then I thought, well, there's one scene and I'm not going to give it away. But there is one scene in the play where I just thought, not any Abbey is going to have seen or heard something like this.
It's definitely blind buy stuff. All right. There's no doubt about it. It is. I mean, yeah, it would be a shame to give away the storyline of it. People should go and see it. But therein lies the challenge, I was explaining to you, how he's going to make that, create that scene and do it. And we had a brief, I won't say we had a rehearsal. We had a reading there last week where he described how the art department and people like that working on it. are going to make it happen. And it's going to be very, very exciting, you know. So it's a big ensemble cast. There's about six, eight, eight or so or nine of us involved. And yeah, it's fantastic.
Like Blind Boy, you have quite a broad portfolio. But how did even you get roped into this one?
I always admired his work and I've known what he's been doing since he was very young.
He's really eclectic. artist isn't he?
He is very much so a great musician and a great writer and a great performer you know he's got a lot going on and a great look at life and things and a great approach to it you know very very unique so I was yeah I actually did his podcast a few months back and we'd met I'd met him and known him we'd worked together over the years on kind of charity work and stage productions and stuff like that So he kind of mentioned to me that my name was being thrown around for the production. And I was very excited on a couple of levels. Number one, to get to work on work that he's done and to work with Dan, who's a great director. But also the Abbey Theatre, I'm a bit old school myself. The Abbey Theatre is the National Theatre.
Does that intimidate you or don't you in any respect? It doesn't don't. me I'm actually excited to be there you know I mean in the past I've done West End and I've done Broadway which is a big deal you know but I think your National Theatre is a big one and I always remember years ago touring America with John Kenny and we used to do theatres out there with the Unbelievably And everybody used to ask us about the Abbey when we go to a theatre. Have you played the Abbey? Who's this and what's happening? And certain directors had come from the Abbey too, done a lot of work in New York and various other stages. You know, Gary Hines and people like that.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:35
2
What is Blindboy Boatclub’s play Animals and why is it described as ‘undirectable’?
0:35–4:40
3
How is director Dan Colley adapting Blindboy’s short stories for the stage?
4:40–9:47
4
How did Pat Shortt get involved in the Abbey Theatre production of Animals?
9:47–21:24