Turn And Face The Strained

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Ever since Brian O’Regan wowed The Whale with a Culture Night jampacked with incredible musical talents, his suggestion of curated evening of wonder, workshops, weirdos and wily comedians had us hooked.

And so it was that An Evening Of Extraordinary Ideas came into being, with O’Regan calling on the great and the really great from all walks of art to come together for one special night.

We’ve gone through the artists involved before – from percussionist Alex Petcu and flautist Lina Andonovska to comedian Danny O’Brien and the wired brains behind DabbledooMusic – but, when it comes to explaining this strange brew of a night, we thought it best to find out from the man himself.

Worth noting, of course, that the evening in question is Saturday, November 17th, with those attending not only being the first to have a tour of Greystones’ grooviest loft apartments, the Theatre Lane Lofts, before the show, but also having their name thrown in the hat for an amazing prize – a night for six in one of these brand, spanking new penthouses. Boom!

In the meantime, let’s put the O’Regan lad in the hot seat…

This isn’t your everyday kind of night out at the theatre – what was the inspiration behind An Evening Of Extraordinary Ideas?
I’ve always been fascinated with these types of events and I’ve actually been dreaming of setting up a Festival of Extraordinary Ideas” for quite a while, so this is just the beginning! There are plenty of similar “Festivals of Ideas” in Bristol, York, Cambridge and Adelaide, to name but a few and Sydney’s awesome “Festival of Dangerous Ideas” takes it to a whole new level! There’s also a great “Festival of Writing and Ideas” in Carlow but the unique thing about the “An Evening of Extraordinary Ideas” is the combination of world-class live music and dance performances alongside speakers, panels, workshops and presentations.

Unsurprisingly, it’s one hell of an eclectic line-up, with award-winning stand-up Danny O’Brien rubbing shoulders with Ron Heaslip Dance, flautist Lina Andonovska, percussionist Alex Petcu, and beyond. Hard to pull such a motley crew together…?
Pulling the programme together is definitely the most enjoyable part of the process and a lot of the guests are either personal friends, or “friends of friends” who are doing some really extraordinary things! I used to play lots of wacky percussion music with Alex in college so I was really keen to get him involved. I also knew one of the creators of the amazing DabbledooMusic education software, Rob was recommended to me by a friend from Glasgow’s The Work Room and I also knew Sinéad from the Cork Jazz Festival so I was delighted when she said she could make it!  Of course, there were plenty of other amazing people who couldn’t make it this time round, but watch this space for plenty more extraordinary things!

Given just how eclectic the line-up, is there a definite thread running through the night, or is it more of an organic process of finding the most interesting artists around…?
Everything in the programme is based around an “Extraordinary Idea” and although it’s a very diverse programme, everything there has a distinct idea behind it! From the wonderful music being played by Alex and Lina, to Sarah Ryan’s introduction to “neuro-linguistic programming”, to the guided tours of Theatre Lane’s brand new loft apartments, everything is based on a specific concept or idea. This will be explained as we go by our awesome presenter, East Coast FM’s Laura Wood.

Given the nature of this peculiar beast, it could be tricky for Joe and Joanna Sixpack to get their head around An Evening Of Extraordinary Ideas. How best to explain such a night to the uninitiated…?
Haha! I’m still getting my own head around it too, so they’re not alone! I suppose the event is all about getting out and trying something new, experimenting, disrupting the norm! It’s not about trying to blow people’s minds with mad ideas; it’s more about surprising and entertaining people. I have a particular motto I try to live by which is “try anything twice” – within reason of course! So I’ve always tried to encourage people to do the same!  

Just to make the night even more special, all these performances, talks and workshops will take place immediately after a tour of perhaps Wicklow’s grooviest new penthouse apartments. That’s got to be a first, right…?
Yes, I’ve seen them and they’re absolutely stunning! The views are just amazing and the interior design by Sharon Ryle gives each apartment and each room a unique character! The level of detail is awesome and it totally fits with the concept of the evening. I’ve certainly never seen it done before and I’ve definitely never been given the opportunity to have a sleepover after a concert!

I had been chatting with Ross – the owner of Whale Theatre = about this event for a while and when he told me about the amazing new loft apartments, I asked him if we could incorporate them into the evening. Ross was hugely supportive so we totally ran with the idea and we’re now also doing a competition on the night for someone to win an overnight stay in one of the apartments! They could even bring their toothbrush and stay over after the event if they wanted to!

What would you hope people will get out of the night itself, beyond entertainment? Potentially, a lot of seeds could be sown here…
I think a lot of people will probably just go away having had a really entertaining, funny and enjoyable night and that’s brilliant! As I said, we’re not trying to have a massively profound effect on people in just one evening, but I’m sure people will get huge benefit Sarah Ryan’s talk about mindfulness, reducing stress and general well-being. In our busy, overloaded, cluttered, stressful lives I think it’s really important to put away your phone every so often and live in the now! Sarah’s story is a fascinating one and I think we can all learn something from her experiences and expertise on how to live a happier, healthier and more balanced life – myself included!

You curated a magnificent line-up of live music for Culture Night at The Whale – where did this gift for pulling together these mini-Woodstocks come from…?
Thank you! Hopefully this won’t be quite as mucky as Woodstock! Culture Night was great and it was so much fun putting it all together. I think it probably comes from a sense of curiosity that I’ve always had plus quite a bit of experience! I used to programme my own concerts as a percussionist and as a choir director both in Ireland and New Zealand before moving into working with festivals and events on a full-time basis! It also comes back to the “try anything twice” idea. At Culture Night, we had an unforgettable “on-the-night” collaboration between Strung (an amazing trad-fusion group from Cork) and the GrND Collective (a contemporary dance ensemble) which created a very unique spark and that only worked because everyone was curious and keen to try something new.

The shift in not only how art is made today but how it’s distributed and consumed has been industry-shattering over the past decade. Optimistic for the future, or is there a fear that the wild west of the internet may ultimately make all art free and, therefore, disposable…?
There have definitely been some major changes in how we live our lives over the last few years and compared to “back in the day” (I’m not that old really!!), art is certainly being produced and consumed in a very different way now. I think we need to embrace all of these developments and I don’t believe that it’s actually possible to stand still anymore. If you’re not moving forward, you’re really moving backwards so the cultural sector has to keep moving or it risks being left behind!

That being said, I think that the unique nature of attending live events in person is something that simply cannot be replaced by a digital alternative. Tickets for festivals and gigs still sell-out in record time which shows that there’s still massive interest in that kind of shared experience. People have even started organising phone-free concerts which is a great idea!  

There will always be something special about going to a live concert that’s so much better than watching something on a box or squinting at a phone. Sure, it’s probably more comfortable to watch something from your couch, but that’s what I love about the Whale Theatre – it’s not like any other theatre I’ve ever been in! They actually have couches! You’re not crammed into a tiny seat with your knees knocking against your neighbour’s so it’s the best of both worlds really! You get the comfort factor in droves, plus that feeling of the live, shared experience. Plus there’s a bar, a popcorn machine and you might even get the chance to sleepover upstairs after the show!

And where to for Brian O’ Regan next…?
Well, I’m actually based over in Edinburgh so I’m heading straight back over there after this event at The Whale! We do have plans for another similar event next year so keep an eye out for that and there are also plans in the pipeline to expand this concept and present a full “Festival of Extraordinary Ideas” over 2 or 3 days next Autumn so there’s certainly plenty to keep me busy!

Taking place on Saturday, November 17th at The Whale, you can find out more about An Evening Of Extraordinary Ideas here, and about those Theatre Lane Lofts right here. You can also book your tickets here.