Our Studio Journal

Events & Reviews, Featured Alexandra Madden Events & Reviews, Featured Alexandra Madden

Events: Dance-theatre 'Merry.Go.Round' by Maria Nilsson Waller

A captivating rumination on life and love, the costumes, sound design and props are all under Nilsson Waller's careful direction. Bringing metaphors and turns of phrase to life in hypnotic sequences, this piece not only gives you ample feats of strength and synchronicity, it offers you the space to explore your own past and present as you endeavour to interpret and unwind its narrative.

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Journal Series Brendan Joseph Madden Journal Series Brendan Joseph Madden

If Not For Love (My Journal V.)

As we prepare for new years - new beginnings and a reflection on the past - there's lots to give thanks for, and yet alongside this, are also the things we cling so tightly to that have already slipped away, leaving husks of hurt, the hope having withered away.  All this - the good and the bad mixed together - sits uncomfortably in our minds' gut. Nonetheless we get put on our party clothes, make-up and a smile, hoping as the clock strikes midnight our sullied pages will be bleached blank. After all the revelry we head to bed, and eight hours later wake up mulling those same thoughts, hopes, joys & fears, realising that once again, a new year does not mean a new you, and we find ourselves at a loss as to how to move past the past.

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Journal Series Brendan Joseph Madden Journal Series Brendan Joseph Madden

At The Edge of The World (My Journal IV)

Today I went to church, and instead of there being a sermon, there were readings by two of the children, contemporary worship songs, and the wrapping of gift hampers for one of the organisations that we support, a womens' shelter in Rathmines. While everyone sang, I sat, sometimes joining in, all the while drawing outlines and swirls, grateful for the space to ask a question I'm not sure of the answer to: Why did creation emerge from the great swirl, why was it formed, if not for love?

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Journal Series Brendan Joseph Madden Journal Series Brendan Joseph Madden

At The Edge of The World (My Journal III)

Language has limits, which I was reminded of yesterday when I said something along the lines of, "I hate when you do that". When I used the form "you", I meant "one", or more accurately "I/me", as in, "I hate when you stub your toe", meaning, "I hate when I stub my toe", and as I realised I'd caused insult, I suddenly realised I had accidentally been criticising everyone around me when I was trying to show empathy.

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