11/05/15 TASMANIAN TIMES
May 11, 2015 23:47:24 GMT 10
Post by thebraff (Braffy) on May 11, 2015 23:47:24 GMT 10
tasmaniantimes.com/index.php?/arts-article/dramatic-damien/
Damien Leith is a regular visitor to Tasmania, most recently he was in the state to take part in ‘Camp Gallipoli’, where the community had a chance to camp under the stars like the original diggers and enjoy some entertainment while doing so. Damien called the event ‘fantastic’ and ‘brilliant’ adding the atmosphere was great and he also had the chance to spend some roaming the streets of Hobart.
One of the meanings of the Leith name is ‘wide’ and it’s very difficult to think of any other person in the public eye that shows accomplishment in such a wide variety of areas. With a scientific background in Chemistry, a well-known career as a musician/ performer, song writer and as an author, Damien now adds playwright and actor to that list.
Damien tells me that acting was his first career choice until he happened to find himself performing as a musician and enjoying it. The love of acting has not abated and when he was asked by singer and TV host David Campbell and his wife (organisers of the Adelaide festival 4 years ago) to create something ‘Irish’, so began the journey of Damien’s play ‘The Parting Glass’ taking its name from the Scottish/Irish song. Since then the play has been edited, embellished and evolved.
The premise of the play is the relationship between an Irish father and son. The latter who has left Ireland with hopes and dreams for life in Australia and has for five years ceased family connections and as Damien said ‘just vanished’.
The play picks up the story when the father and son are reunited. Damien says he based some of the attributes of the father on the many characters he observed when he worked as a barman in Ireland.
The play will also showcase Damien’s new album of Irish songs, the recording of which has long been a career ambition. The play unfolds in the setting of a pub with the band playing and the songs interspersed through the dramatic action at various points. Some of the songs are integral to the play such as ‘Raglan Road’, which has a particular relevance to the character of the father, while the other songs that will be included are a surprise for each outing of the play. Damien adds that the play has funny aspects interwoven though it’s many different layered dimensions.
You can see Damien in the Parting Glass:
14th August 2015 Wrest Point Showroom, Hobart, 8pm
15th August 2015 Launceston Country Club, Launceston, 8pm
16th August 2015 Burnie Arts Centre, Burnie, 8pm
thanks for posting 
our lovelies will have a grand time....to be sure 
