LJ on song with virtual gigs from garage theatre

Arts Week with Judy Murphy

Writer and performer Little John Nee, a true survivor in the precarious world of the arts, is returning to his roots in his determination to continue working during the Covid-19 shutdown.  For Little John, those roots are in his garage, a place which offered him a musical haven as a teen in Letterkenny, County Donegal.

Now living in Tuam, the much-loved performer has turned the garage of his home into a theatre space and will be staging three ‘virtual’ shows there, from this Thursday, March 26, until Thursday, April 9.

The technical rehearsals for ‘Isolated, Not Isolated’ involve a shopping trolley, a camera-phone, microphones, black drapes and a willingness to learn on the job, he explains with a laugh.

The concerts, which will draw on music, song and stories from some of his many shows, such as Radio Rosario, The Derry Boat and Rural Electric, are being staged in conjunction with Letterkenny’s Regional Cultural Centre and will be transmitted via its Facebook page as well as Little John’s own.

His stories and shows reflect ordinary people’s lives, but with the addition of extraordinary twists and fantastic, often raw, musical accompaniment, making them perfect for these strange times.

“It’s about doing the work I’d be doing anyway,” he says enthusiastically. “The gigs I’d normally be doing were being cancelled, so it was about how I could continue to work when there were no gigs.”

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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