The Adventures of Flannery
(Johnny Gogan, 2007, 75mins)
Singer-song-writer Cathal Coughlan delves into the Parisian Arcades Project of German Jewish philosopher Walter Benjamin for inspiration in a musical re-imagining of his home city of Cork’s derelict “Madhouse by the Lee”. The one-off performance of Coughlan’s resulting musical theatre work becomes the centre-piece for a musical odyssey through a career embracing Microdisney, Fatima Mansions and a more recent and no less prolific solo career; through his adoptive city of London and his collaboration with French musical theatre company Ribac-Schwabe.
““Witness the birth of Flannery, the central character in the music-theatre song cycle Flannery’s Mounted Head, first performed by Cathal Coughlan in 2005 and documented thoroughly in Johnny Gogan’s movie The Adventures of Flannery: A film portrait of Cathal Coughlan. In many ways it is the perfect kick-off for the Ireland on Sunday documentary series at the Irish Film Institute”. ”
““The Adventures of Flannery is much more than an ordinary artistic collaboration. It is a gesture of solidarity between two committed mould-breakers” ”
