''Dublin Oldschool'' is a 2014 Irish play written by Irish actor

Emmet Kirwan Emmet Kirwan is an Irish actor, playwright and screenwriter. He is known for starring in RTÉ2's Sarah & Steve and for writing and starring in the 2015 play, and 2018 movie version of ''Dublin Oldschool''. Other credits include parts in ''Ella En ...

and a 2018 film starring Kirwan,

Ian Lloyd Anderson Ian Lloyd Anderson (born 4 June 1986) is an Irish actor best known for his role as Dean in '' Love/Hate''. In 2015, Anderson joined the cast of the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'' in season 5 A season is a division of the year based on change ...

Seana Kerslake Seana or Seána is a female given name. Notable people with the name include: * Seána Kerslake (born 1990), Irish actress * Seana Kofoed (born 1970), American television actress * Seana McKenna (born 1956), Canadian actress * Seana Shiffrin Sea ...

and Sarah Greene based on the play. The film was directed by Dave Tynan.

Plot

Jason is a wannabe DJ in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

who is addicted to narcotics. He later meets his brother Daniel, an educated heroin addict without a home. The two men reconnect during a weekend. Jason continually runs into his double, who has his phone. He attempts to connect with this seemingly secondary self, but is consistently thwarted in his efforts. At the end of the play, time doubles back on itself, and Jason seems to be reliving the day again.

Play

The play premiered in 2014. Both Kirwan and Anderson prefer acting on stage than acting in a film. It won the Best Fringe Performers Award at the Tiger Dublin Fringe Festival. The play was shown at the

Project Arts Centre Project Arts Centre is a multidisciplinary arts centre based in Temple Bar, Dublin, which hosts visual arts, theatre, dance, music, and performance. History Project Arts Centre was founded by Jim FitzGerald and Colm O'Briain in 1967 after a thr ...

twice. The stage version was characterized by a highly physical stage presence, an almost complete lack of set, and the use of lighting to denote changes in space and time. Paul Taylor, writing for ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' gave a positive review of its 2017 run at the National Theatre in London saying, "Emmet Kirwan's two-hander, starring himself as Jason, a wannabe DJ and Ian Lloyd Anderson, as his long-lost drug addict brother, is highly charged theatre." Michael Billington of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' gave a negative review of the same run at the National Theatre saying, "If Kirwan can harness his verbal power, he may yet write a play that offers more than a sensory impression."

Film

The film was released on 29 June 2018 in Ireland theatres. The play's writer, Emmet Kirwan, plays the role of Jason and

plays the role of Daniel. It is directed by Dave Tynan. The film expands on the two character play with added characters including Sarah Greene as Jason's friend Lisa and

as Jason's former girlfriend. Kirwan stated he hopes that the film will foster awareness of the homeless and drug addicts.

Screen Ireland Fís Éireann / Screen Ireland, formerly known as Bord Scannán na hÉireann / the Irish Film Board, is the Republic of Ireland's state development agency for the Irish film, television and animation industry. It provides funds for the developm ...

and Windmill Lane Pictures helped with the production. The film was released on DVD and on demand on 9 November 2018 in Ireland and on 11 November 2018 in the United Kingdom. Paul Whitington of the ''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet new ...

'' gave the film a negative review that states, "Tynan's film is laden down with aimless chatter, and its plot meanders drearily towards a country rave that seems curiously old-fashioned, and feels like a piece of Dublin's past, not its present."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dublin Oldschool 2015 plays 2014 comedy-drama films 2014 films Films about drugs Films about heroin addiction Films set in Dublin (city) Films shot in Dublin (city) Irish comedy-drama films Irish plays Theatre about drugs