Zandra, Queen of Jazz
At a glance
About this event
For one night only, Zandra, Queen of Jazz comes to the Moat Theatre in Kildare after Two Sold-Out Runs at Smock Alley Boys ' School. The second run was part of the Herstory Light Festival 2020, a festival dedicated to trailblazing women throughout history. This show is not to be missed.
With just her sax and a suitcase, Zandra Mitchell joined a jazz band and toured the world.
Born in Phibsborough, Dublin in 1903, she was Ireland’s first female saxophonist. While the twenties roared she found her way through Europe to Berlin. The dictators rose; the books burned; the bombs dropped…and Zandra played her sax
Darn Skippy Productions present Zandra, Queen of Jazz — a play with original music, based on an extraordinary true story.
With Support from Jazz Ireland
Further support from the dlr LexIcon Library. The early development of this piece was supported by an Emerging Artist Bursary from Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council Arts Office.
Written and Performed by: Roseanne Lynch
Directed by: Katherine Soloviev
Original Music, Arrangements and Sound Design by: Richard Lennon
Costume and Lighting Design by Lianne O'Shea
Poster by: Eugene Korolkov
REVIEWS
Lynch…traces the fortunes and misfortunes of a trailblazer, with candour and wit...gives the impression of improvisation, though the lines are flawlessly rehearsed and the rhythms exact...
Richard Lennon's accompanying soundtrack oscillates between the jazz of the Roaring Twenties and sombre atmospheres that reflect the darker undertones of Zandra's life and times...
Lynch's labor-of-love honors Josephine Alexandra Mitchell in a way that a few lines in jazz historiography cannot.
- Ian Patterson, All About Jazz
Directed with a real sense of pace and zip, and a wonderful feeling of the style of the 1920’s, by Katherine Soloviev...
Original music written by Richard Lennon...Wonderful, original, seductive jazz...tinged with regret, nostalgia, happiness as well, and memory.
The lighting…has the smokey effect of a speakeasy in the 1920’s. A show where all the elements of theatre fused together to make a really unique and fascinating piece.
- John Dalton, Centre Stage, Dublin City FM - 4th FEB 2020
Splendid debut stage production…
Sensitively directed by Katherine Soloviev…
Enticing original music…
- Jini Rooney, Broadway World
Roseanne Lynch…is simply incredible…
Richard Lennon, who provides original music, perfectly echoes the tones and beats of the story and allows the music to have a cheeky life of its own.
This is both an invigorating and empowering performance…
- Florence McGowan, meg.ie
Katherine Soloviev uses music and movement to inject the one-woman show with a stylish dynamism. Lynch’s performance is elegant and poised.
…brings and untold story vividly to life.
- Katy Hayes, Irish Independent
Lynch tells Zandra’s story with gusto and it is a story worth the telling.
- Frank L., No More Workhorse
Zandra, Queen Of Jazz - TRAILER with Quotes from Darn Skippy Productions on Vimeo.
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Location
Abbey Rd, Naas, Co. Kildare
Venue details
The Moat Theatre includes a 200 seater auditorium and stage with retractable seating and a fly tower, two rehearsal rooms, male and female dressing rooms and a foyer/coffee shop and bar area.The flexibility of design of the spaces inside allows for multiple use of the various spaces in the building. The Moat Theatre development secured generous funding from the Department of Arts, Sports and Tourism and Naas Town Council.
