Since its award-nominated debut run with Absolut Fringe in Dublin, Three Men Talking About Things They Kinda Know About by Kalle Ryan, Colm Keegan and Stephen James Smith has sold out shows in Kinsale, Project Arts Centre Dublin and Bristol. Now the brilliantly-received short play with the long name is back this Oct ober for a final whistle-stop UK and Ireland tour, including a stop at Garter Lane Theatre on 13th October. We caught up with writer/performer and Waterford man, Kalle Ryan.
Although based in Dublin these days, Kalle grew up in Viewmount and attended primary school in Christchurch National School (‘or The Model as it was known back then’), followed by secondary school at Newtown.
“My late Swedish mother Lisa was a social worker and known locally for her work in championing women’s rights, as well as being easily recognisable for her shock of blonde Scandinavian hair! My late father Tony would have been a well-known part of the artistic community in Waterford. He was a painter and lecturer in the Art Dept at WIT for almost 20 years, as well as being a founding member of Red Kettle Theatre Company and later Open Space Theatre Company. For many years he also served as a committee member for the Waterford Crystal/WLR Arts and Entertainment award. He would have been equally recognisable for his shock of white hair & goatee and our long-serving turquoise Saab car!”
“I was lucky enough to grow up in a home where creativity was always present. In addition to my father being a painter, my mother was a gifted weaver and craftswoman. So, being creative and following that instinct was always normal to me. Outside of that, I think that my English classes with Edward Denniston (a great poet in his own right) at Newtown School were the first place where my creativity and writing was really encouraged. Those classes with him were hugely formative and definitely developed my appreciation for poetry (Yeats and Keats are still firm favourites to this day) and my love for creative writing. Even though I actually only received a C in Honours English in the Leaving Cert, I believe I learnt far more in that class than an exam could ever ask of me. I learnt how to think critically, creatively and constructively.”
