Irish Director Takes Worldly Look at His Work

By Martin Hintz

The play’s the thing for soft-spoken Dublin director Ben Barnes, pausing in Milwaukee to assist the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre with its interpretation of A Month in the Country by Ivan Turgenev. The spring production was adapted by Irish playwright Brian Friel and, although the piece is Russian, Barnes said that he felt this work was infused with an Irish sensibility. 

Battling a chest infection in the days prior to the opening, he couldn’t afford to take the time to sit back and relax. "Just have to work through it," Barnes said. "I’m usually healthy."

It was the first time that Barnes had directed Turgenev. ""I had a lot of interest in Russian drama and have l long been attracted to it. Friel has retained the heart and spirit of the original in the adaptation," he asserted. Barnes pointed out that the original marathon work had been pared to about two and a half hours by his fellow countryman, whom he called a skilled dramatist.

He praised the Rep’s acting pool and design team as "among the best in the world," especially working with material such as Turgenev. "He’s an author who works around the story," said Barnes, who was artistic director at the renowned Abbey Theatre from 2000-2005 during its 100th birthday celebration. Barnes is also a prolific author on theater subjects. His essays and a critiques being widely published in Ireland and abroad. 

"Milwaukee’s actors compare favorably with those at the Abbey, very high level of professionalism indeed," he said. "Many of the actors are established in the classic theater. Their muscles are well-flexed," he pointed out of the cast. "They were receptive to the detail and work that I like to do. They are serious. And I’m grateful for that."

According to Barnes, 49, a director can only be as good as the actors and vice versa. "There’s a synergy to this process," he indicated. 

Barnes loves discussing history. Rightly so, because he was originally from Salt Mills, a village in Wexford where on May 1, 1170, the Normans landed under Richard de Clare, Earl of Pembroke. De Clare, also known as "Strongbow," became King of Leinster. The following year, English king Henry II showed up and Ireland was changed forever. Barnes’ family has lived in the area for 800 years, "but we were the newcomers," he laughed referring to such characters as Viking raiders who occasionally showed up along the Irish coast much earlier. 

Barnes has the same wanderlust, however. Now, as a freelance director, he travels the globe plying his craft. "I’ve been invited to teach at the University of Toronto in 2007. So I’ve been juggling offers. It would have to be for at least one academic years, because of school for the kids," he said. Barnes and his wife, Julia, have two children: Elishka, 7, and Milena, 6. He indicated he would "love to spend some time in Chicago. So I’m looking at options."

Barnes said that he had been fortunate to work with excellent companies wherever he landed, even though Ireland is always his first love, where he appreciates being able to visit in France or the United Kingdom, even if only for a weekend. 

"Schedules always seem to be tight, because most of the plays I work on are big," he said of his jobs away from home. 

Barnes has known Joe Hanreddy, Rep artistic director, for about four years, meeting him at the Barbican in London. The marvelous multipurpose concert hall, theater, cinema and art gallery is the home of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the London Symphony. They also each know many of the same individuals in the international theatrical world. Subsequently, although it took several years for the production of A Day in the Country to come together, the two worked well together. 

"There are a lot of boxes to tick off when putting a season together. It’s quite complicated, especially for contemporary theaters," Barnes explained, identifying with Hanreddy’s management task and also tapping into his own experiences at the Abbey. 

In preparing for A Day in the Country, Barnes made several trips to Milwaukee to meet the Rep’s set designer and the cast, look at the stage and become involved in all the facets behind the scenes of staging a major production. "I tend to have a strong esthetic around the production, but still leave in some wriggle room. It should not be too restrictive," he indicated about how he works. 

Barnes did not remain for the Rep’s actual run of the play, leaving the day-to-day operation to a interim director. Yet he stayed ready for phone consultation and kept up with the attendance though daily show reports via email. "It’s like leaving a baby behind," he said.

Since Barnes spends so much time on the road, he adapts to the rhythm of whatever city in which he finds himself, usually keeping a relatively low profile and concentrating on the job at hand. While in Milwaukee, he visited the sprawling Mayfair shopping mall and took in the Milwaukee Art Museum. "I’m not a late night person, I don’t like the smoking scene," he pointed out as to why he wasn’t partying until the wee hours.

Barnes was also working on a book about his days at the Abbey, as well as editing articles and writing reviews. "I’ve never been on to sit down, I’m always rushing off. I guess I’m a product of contemporary life, trying to live three lives. Yes, I’m guilty of that," he admitted.

Whether he remains a freelance director or returns to the life of a company director is up in the air. One thing is certain, however. Ben Barnes is passionate about Chekov, another noted Russian playwright. "I would like to direct more of him," he hinted. 

One of Barnes favorite Irish plays is The Plough and the Stars, the third in Sean O’Casey’s riveting "Dublin Trilogy." 

"It is one of the great plays, very difficult to stage. We took it to the Barbican and it was very well received. Very challenging," he related. 

His top picks in American theatrical writing, which he calls "plays of the world," include Death of a Salesman, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and A Streetcar Named Desire. Barnes is also a big fan of David Mamet and his works such as the hardhitting Glengarry, Glen Ross. "That’s a contemporary masterpiece. Mamet’s writing is so sharp. It’s living in the contemporary world, with marvelous humor," Barnes said, adding that "American culture is pretty diverse.

Obviously there is no dearth of pieces that Barnes can tackle, regardless of where he lands. "There are so many things to do right now," Barnes concluded.