Dunamaise Arts Centre to stage 'At War with Mercy’ 

IN a remarkable fusion of music and theatre, which revives the legacy of Canada’s renowned singer/songwriter, author and poet Leonard Cohen, playwrights John MacKenna and Angela Keogh are bringing their show At War with Mercy to the Dunamaise Arts Centre in Portlaoise early next month.

This unique production, co-written with the legendary Leonard Cohen, delves into themes of war, peace and mercy through the lens of Cohen’s timeless music and writings.

John MacKenna first met Leonard Cohen in 1984 and their friendship blossomed over the years through letters and later through emails.

The talented wordsmiths collaborated on the 2016 production titled Between Your Love and Mine, which toured 20 theatres nationally during 2017-2019, including the National Concert Hall, Aras an Uachtaráin and the Dunamaise Arts Centre.

At War with Mercy continues the Leonard Cohen/John MacKenna legacy by exploring the profound impact of war and the enduring need for mercy.

The show features a talented cast, including singer Katie Jacques, singer and guitarist Shane Sullivan and percussionist Dave Day, with actors John MacKenna and Angela Keogh. Staged by the Mend & Makedo Theatre Company, the production combines music and theatre to create a powerful and immersive experience.

In an interview for the Laois Nationalist in the  Dunamaise Arts Centre recently, John MacKenna shared some insights into the creation of At War with peace and recounted some discussions with Leonard Cohen about the recurring themes of peace and war in his music.

John said: “Angela and I developed six of the 16 songs in the show into theatrical pieces. One of the standout pieces in the show is based on Leonard’s song The Story of Isaac. The performance begins outside the theatre, drawing the audience into the narrative before continuing onto the stage.

“Angela and I looked at some of Leonard’s writings in one of his books called Book of Mercy. From this, Angela developed the script for two spoken pieces. One is about a woman who works in a coffee shop having fled her homeland to an unspecified country. It focuses on why she’s there, what she remembers of the country she left behind and why she was forced to leave.

‘‘Angela’s second piece is based around Leonard’s song A Singer Must Die, which is about a musician. When we meet him, he’s on a boat leaving his homeland behind fleeing to another country because himself and his friends, who are involved in a musical group, have been interrogated.

“Towards the end, we focus on Leonard’s words from a concert in 2009 in Israel, where he addressed bereaved parents from both Israel and Palestine who were in attendance and had lost children who were killed on both sides of the conflict. Leonard talked about the fact that mercy and peace were the only solutions to what was going on and that there wasn’t going to be any military solution.

“The last song in the show is a song that Leonard wrote but never recorded, so it has never been released. It’s about children and what happens to them in war-torn situations like that.” John said that in Leonard’s last email to him ten days before he passed in November 2016, Leonard said ‘whatever work of mine that you want to use for this show, please use it.’ 

Concluding, John said: “I felt honoured and a sense of obligation to finish the piece of work we had talked about doing. It took a while to get there but we toured the country very successfully last year with the show. We decided to take it back on the road this year because I think that if Leonard was alive today and saw what is happening in Gaza he would be absolutely appalled. It seems to be much more important and impertinent to the world situation now than it was even when we talked about it in 2016. If ever we had a need for mercy, it’s now.” Director of the Dunamaise Arts Centre Michelle de Forge said: “Dunamaise is delighted to welcome back John MacKenna, Angela Keogh and company for At War with Mercy. This play has been really well received by audiences and fans of Leonard Cohen’s music. This is sure to be a great evening of entertainment for fans of theatre and live music.” At War with Peace will be performed on Friday 4 July at 8pm. Tickets cost €20 each. Bookings can be made on the Dunamaise Arts Centre website www.dunamaise.ie or by phoning the box office on 057 8663355.