In a back room in the seismology department of DIAS, Merrion Square, actor Mikel Murfi lip-synced to a distorted reading of Paul Muldoon’s ‘Dismissal’ supported by by musicians. That was how Earth Sonnet opened. The performance was comprised of musical and spoken-word interpretations of seven new pastoral sonnets from Irish poets. It was quintessential Fringe. Directed by Mel Mercier and featuring the MÓNCKK ensemble for accompaniment, the forty-five minute show threw a lot at the wall, and much of it stuck.
A feeling of real passion and enjoyment from the actors filled the room and kept the sunlight out. For the most part, the pieces flowed into one another and informed one another. Each poem received its own musical score and visual language, with a very pronounced, if not sometimes inappropriate, use of lighting and projection. This specific use of poetry, challenging the poem by bringing it outside its self-containment and form, was quite refreshing. Although it worked for some of the selections better than others. Though Murfi’s opening performance of the Muldoon sonnet set a certain tone that was rarely matched through the whole show, it was a very interesting interpretation of the sonnet itself. Following that a very subdued, entirely sung version of ‘Monard Midsummer’ by Gerry Murphy succeeded at representing a standard modern sonnet. Caoimhe Ní Fhlathar sang Aifric Mac Aodha’s beautiful sonnet: ‘Tá d’athair ag adú tine, a chroí’. The performance was similarly stunning. However, Kayssie K’s sonnet was not done justice by its very scattered and strange adaptation. The Shona-language poem (‘Ndamuka Urimusakasaka’) was performed, again through lip-syncing (the vocal track was recorded by the poet herself) by Murfi, whose apparent confusion over this poem led to a performance similar to the opening piece, only for a poem that did not suit this style.
Next comes the climax. All of the performers contributed to a frantic energy and a seismic musical cacophony. Murfi’s interpretative dance was fascinating and the only appropriate physical response to the intense and intimate beauty of the music. Picking up the second half of the show were the sonnets ‘Eaclóg’ by Simon Ó Faoiláin and ‘Dandelion’ by Jane Clarke, both with sweet and simple accompaniments. Finally, John Fitzgerald’s ‘Into the Music’, which I assume was written especially for this show, was breathtaking and direct. It succeeded in the difficult task of stringing together the motifs of the previous works.
Earth Sonnet was a very pleasant and welcome experiment. It served as an appropriate tribute to the sonnet and was similarly brief. The room buzzed with a simple joy, as if it were at the centre of intense activity. Although I was far from shaken, I was glad I went.
