When the Irish of Washington D.C. set out to create an arts group, they took their cue from the city itself. They wanted to forge an arts organisation which would be pre-eminent nationally - as befits a capital - but cosmopolitan and diverse as well to reflect a metropolis which is 48 per cent African-American and home to the world's diplomatic corps.
No doubt they also had one eye on New York, Boston, Chicago and San Francisco, those populous heartlands of Irish American, but only so that they could plot their own unique cultural course. After all, while D.C. may not boast the large Irish American communities or splendid Irish arts centres of those cities, it is home to the Embassy of Ireland — which brings both prestige and pressure.
All of which explains why Solas Nua can claim to have both the most expansive arts programme of any Irish American arts organisation and a unapologetic contemporary focus.
Twin powerhouses behind the cutting-edge approach of Solas Nua are Chairman Dennis Houlihan, a retired public servant with a grá for the arts, and actor/director Rex Daugherty who serves as the organisation's Artistic Director for Theatre. On a blazing hot Friday recently in D.C., they took shelter from the scorching sun in the Dupont Circle hotel to talk about their work.
Solas Nua struck the Irish of the D.C. metro area like a lightning bolt with its first production — Enda Walsh's Disco Pigs — and has, COVID notwithstanding, kept the pedal to the metal with elaborate and stunning theatrical fare. "Rather than go down a well-trodden path in Irish America, we resolved instead to promote the work of amazing, contemporary Irish playwrights who deserve a global stage," says Rex Daugherty. "In this city with its large African-American population, we endeavor especially to reach beyond the diaspora and to be accessible and equitable to all. So our work may be Irish but the themes — such as homelessness and immigration — are global."
Reviewed repeatedly by the Washington Post, the theatrical program of Solas Nua attracts a wide and diverse audience - stretching beyond the group's Irish American core support. However, there are other staples anchoring its busy annual events calendar.
"We have a very popular Irish book day where we give away books by Irish authors on St Patrick's Day," explains Dennis Houlihan, "an idea," he adds, tongue-in-cheek, "that our friends in New York subsequently took from us."
@culture_ireland is delighted to support @LizRocheCompany premiering ‘Yes and Yes’ in asso. with @Solasnuacht at the @AtlasPACDC in D.C. 9-10 Sept. & then at the John & Joan Mullen Center for the Performing Arts, Villanova Uni, Philadelphia, 13 Sept.
🎟️https://t.co/hvtbIRnT4Z pic.twitter.com/2jueKbdjHi
— Culture_Ireland (@culture_ireland) August 16, 2022
This year's Irish Book Day featured a 'Holy Show's Urban Odyssey'— inspired by the centenary of Ulysses — which saw four pairs of our best writers and artists dispatched on literary peregrinations in Dublin, London, Bucharest and Brussels.
Solas Nua also promotes the Capital Irish Film Fest on the first weekend of March. Despite the fact that Ireland and the D.C. Metro Area have approximately the same population, the promoters believe that the Irish voice is one which has earned the right to be heard far beyond its island shores. "The Irish have had a unique and amazing voice on the world stage for 150 years," says Oklahoma City native Rex Daugherty. "100 years ago, James Joyce was the Solas Nua of his day. Our challenge now is to highlight the James Joyces of today - those authentic, innovative artists from Ireland who we can bring to a wider audience."
Despite the fact that Solas Nua has no home to call its own, the group succeeds in making its mark in the capital. This year alone, Solas Nua has staged theatrical premieres (most recently Maz & Bricks by Eva O'Connor in June), commissioned new works of music (including Imbolc by Irish folk singer Maija Sofia to welcome St Brigid's Day, though the physical concert had to be postponed due to a COVID surge), staged visual arts exhibitions, broadcast podcasts, and hosted book launches and 'authors in conversation' evenings (both virtual and in-person), all under the tag line of 'New Irish Arts'.
Tonight, tickets to "An Other Playboy?", a take on Synge's classic from Arambe Productions, Festabit Festival of African and Black Irish Theatre @projectarts pic.twitter.com/B92tctzmVL
— RTE Arena (@RTEArena) November 8, 2017
In November, the group will push its theatrical boat out further than ever before when it stages a new adaptation of The Playboy of the Western World by Roddy Doyle and Nigerian Irish playwright Bisi Adigun. "It's a remarkable pice of writing which showcases the comedy and dramatic power that Synge originally created while reframing the context to include the multi-cultural identity of modern Ireland," adds Daugherty. "I'm proud Solas Nua will be producing the US premiere."
This "smorgasbord of activities", says Solas Nua Executive Director Miranda Driscoll, reflects "all that is inspiring about contemporary, globally diverse Ireland — a culture and identity that is shared across borders, ethnicity and economic lines".
That work has brought recognition: Solas Nua's reputation as Washington D.C.'s premier site specific theatre company was much-deserved but also hard-won in the city with the second busiest theatre scene in the U.S. Swimming pools, car parks, bars and abandoned buildings have all served as stages for their contemporary Irish plays.
Emerging cautiously from COVID, Solas Nua estimates that it won't achieve its pre-pandemic audience numbers for some time yet. However, the group is working closely with the new Irish Government initiative to link Irish arts groups right across the States and is looking forward to co-operating with the two full-time art workers the DFA is preparing to appoint.
But Solas Nua will continue to march to its own drum beat. Projecting five years ahead, Dennis Houlihan sees an organisation that will be better-known internationally, employing more staff and continuing to be seen as a superb platform for Irish artists coming to the U.S. He is confident that the city and Irish Government will continue to partner their efforts. "After all, the arts are the greatest ambassador for Ireland."
Adds Daugherty: "And we'd like our audiences to be not just larger but also more diverse - that is a definite part of our mission."
