Jacqueline Mulhallen
Lynx Theatre and Poetry
Drawing on experience of the theatre as student and performer in fringe or community theatre in London and Sydney, Jackie launched Lynx Theatre and Poetry with William Alderson in 1987. She had also studied the theatre in Finland for a year and had visited Poland twice to experience its innovative progressive theatre scene.
This international influence combined with William Alderson’s visual flair to give her plays a unique quality, and make them "vibrant and enlightening" (Siân Williams, Master of Dance at the Globe Theatre, London).
Plays
Rebels and Friends
Sylvia was followed by Rebels and Friends. This two-woman play was about the Irish sisters Constance Markievicz and Eva Gore-Booth, and it toured Ireland three times with Jackie playing Constance. It included 550 slides, Eva's poems, traditional Irish music and parts were choreographed. It had excellent reviews and responses from audiences.
Plans are well underway to revive this play in 2019, with applications for funding in with the Arts Council and the Irish Emigrant Support Programme. The Liverpool Irish Festival wants it as a headline show, and Bolton Irish Centre wants it to kick off their 20th anniversary celebrations. A guest blog appeared on the British parliament's Vote100 site.
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Further information about performance will appear here.
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Sylvia
Click here for current touring dates.
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Sylvia is a one-woman play about Sylvia Pankhurst. Lynx originally toured it to schools, libraries, museums, arts centres, and community centres from 1987-1992, and it was revived in 1997. It had brilliant reviews and comments.
The present revival of Sylvia shows that the play is still as relevant today as when it was first written - possibly more so! The reception has been triumphant. A guest blog was published on the British parliament's Vote100 website.
Shadow of the Soul
Lynx planned to produce this play about the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley for his bicentennary in 1992, but bookings had to be cancelled and the plans shelved when funding fell through. Written for three women and three men plus musicians, Shadow of the Soul was in a highly innovative style which built on the experience of Sylvia and Rebels and Friends.
This play led to Jackie's internationally acclaimed study, The Theatre of Shelley (OpenBooks, 2010), and to her new political biography of Shelley (Pluto Press, 2015).
Cannon in Ballitore
Cannon in Ballitore is a one-woman play about Ireland. Jackie's Irish family background has given her a keen interest in bringing Irish history to life for an English audience.
Saw Your Name in the Paper
Many older actresses complain about a lack of plays for them. Saw Your Name in the Paper is written for five women, and not only demands skill and experience on their part, but also that they are all over 60!
The Battle of the Bridge
In a lighter tone, Jackie wrote a community play for performance at the Stoke Ferry Festival in 2007. The Battle of the Bridge was based on a real story, and local people were involved in improvisations which formed the basis for Jackie's script.
The play was produced by Wissey Valley Arts in association with Lynx Theatre and Poetry.
Other Plays
Jackie is planning another one woman show for herself, but she has several othe plays and is looking for homes for them.
I Want to be Wonderful
Lynx Theatre and Poetry is also currently raising funding for Jackie’s new play, I Want to be Wonderful, about Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, as played by Marilyn Monroe. It has a cast of two women and one man. Lynx has already received support for this production from the GMB, SERTUC, FBU, NUJ and Wissey Valley Arts.
No Sign of the Men
Jackie started writing this play while working on her PhD. No Sign of the Men is for six actresses, and is based on the theatre of the early nineteenth century.