Rough Magic – A Living Archive

We are delighted to have ‘Rough Magic – a Living Archive’, be the latest Long Room exhibition in Trinity College, Dublin!

This exhibition charts the evolution of the company in the context of that original vision; celebrating the people and the productions that formed it, and presenting an overview of a unique piece of Irish theatre history. As an independent, and highly individual company, Rough Magic is also an assertion of the maverick spirit.

Iconic plays, such as Declan Hughes’ Digging For Fire and Arthur Riordan’s Improbable Frequency, are represented by artefacts such as publicity material and a stage manager’s prompt copy – the mechanics of production. Each of the objects in the exhibition relates to milestones in a thirty-five year journey; and the many shows – over a hundred, more than sixty of which have been Irish or world premieres.

Also cause for celebration is the constant and enduring connection with Trinity, Rough Magic’s birthplace and now guardian of its materials and legacy, in a living archive that will keep expanding, consolidating and enriching our joint history. The company takes pleasure and pride in the knowledge that in our Archive there is a secure and sympathetic repository for its past that can inform and underpin the implementation of its future.

Highlights from the archives of Rough Magic, will be on display until 15 January 2020.