Cafe Visionaire: Group shared their talents, dreams and experience of work

Cafe Visionaire’ is an original piece by Doors to Elsewhere, an inclusive theatre ensemble established by Tallaght Community Arts in 2011, sharing their talents, dreams, and experiences of work, pay, and play, that was performed at the Maldron Hotel in late November, reports Ryna Butler.

According to Jennifer Webster, ‘Café Visionaire’ came about through “discussion of employment” within the group.

The group collectively created the original, devised pieces.

In a process that lasted over a year through weekly workshops, the group shared their journeys of employment, delving into their experiences of unpaid work, their desires for fair and equal pay, and their drive to be recognised as the creative artists they are.

The performance was accompanied by a short film by Elton Mullally of South Paw Pictures, which shares the many “real-life interview processes” experienced by the cast.

Plans for Tallaght Community Arts in 2024 include welcoming their new director, Sharon Devlin, connecting more with the wider South Dublin County community, further developing their Creative Places MacUilliam programme, and continuing to support their core projects.

For helping with ‘Cafe Visionaire’ and just the group in general across 2023, Jennifer would like to thank the Doors to Elsewhere performers: Victoria Doherty, James Duggan, Eileen Flynn, Niamh Fortune, Sean Jordan, Barry Kavanagh, Mary Kennedy, Gary McEnroe, Susan McFeeley, Dillon McKeown, Susan Murray, Catherina O’Grady, Shane Rigney, Laura Ryan, Anya Stickland, and Keith Whelan.

She would also like to extend her gratitude to theatre artists, including Michelle Henry, Jenny McDonald, and herself, as well as set designer Natasha Duffy of SoFFt Productions, filmmaker Elton Mullally, chereographer Tatiana Santos, costume designer Freya Gilespie, production assistants Sharon Doyle, Saili Aine Ni Mhurchu, Paolly Mabeto, and technicians Gary O’Connor and Brandon Finnegan.