Anna Nugent

This past week Paul and I have been doing a mini-tour of Seamus Scanlon’s The Long Wet Grass. In early October we shot the short film version that will be released in 2017. And years ago in INKubator at Art House in Jersey City we read the script aloud for the first time. We have had a wonderful journey with this play. It has been interesting to delve in deeper each time we return to the script, and this week, in the wake of the election, to play to audiences in a very raw place.

Art can affect people. The same script at a different time with a different audience can say very different things, as context is everything. This play, that for some has been all about the IRA, has broadened out to encompass all those at war and the finality of killing. In a week where America has clearly seen the divides, where the hurt has surfaced on all sides, we return to the familiar to be able to ask questions, to start the dialogue. I am truly grateful to be processing this election result with friends and strangers, with audiences and over dinner, and I am most grateful to be doing a play with my best friend and husband. This play continues to challenge us and so too it is our hope that it opens up a part of each audience member. Art can affect and it can help us heal, it can open up the dialogue and start the questioning process. I am so grateful to be sharing art at this time. Thank you, Seamus and the cell for making this possible.

Seamus, Paul and Anna standing on a balcony overlooking rail tracks and the Hudson River. It is a sunny day.
On tour with The Long Wet Grass – Seamus Scanlon & Paul Nugent