Boyfriends
Cube, Project Arts Centre
and An Grianán Theatre, Letterkenny, 2024
Situationship [ sich-oo-ey-shuhn-ship ]
Definition: A situationship is a romantic or sexual relationship that is undefined and noncommittal.
Following a three month affair between two anonymous men, Boyfriends, charts the ups and downs and roundabouts of a modern situationship. As they swing through four million one hundred and ninety one thousand possibilities of what they might mean to one another, through time, sex, Madonna songs, nightclubs, period dramas and calorie counting, Boyfriends asks us to ponder on that age old question: what the f*ck is romance anyway?
Role: Set and Video Design
“Boyfriends is one of the best, if not the best, new plays of 2024… Choy-Ping Ní Chléirigh-Ng’s set design is a stroke of genius. The wall-come-bedroom floor as simple and brilliant as it is efficient and effective”
- ★★★★★ The Arts Review
“Not to be missed… Choy-Ping Ní Chléirigh-Ng’s
set is a work of art”
- ★★★★✬ The Reviews Hub
“smart, raw, and above all, hilarious”
- ★★★★ The Irish Times
“funny, smart and heartfelt”
- Irish Independent
Team
Writer: Ultan Pringle
Director: Joy Nesbitt
Starring: Emmanuel Okoye and Ultan Pringle
Voice Cast: Liam Bixby, Derbhle Crotty, Lora Hartin, Teddy Moore and Síofra Ní Éilí
Set and Video Designer: Choy-Ping Ní Chléirigh-Ng 吳彩萍
Composer and Sound Designer: HK Ní Shioradáin
Lighting Design: Owen Clarke
Costume Design: Toni Bailey
Assistant Director: Praise Titus
Stage Management: Ross Smith
Production Management: Molly McAvoy
Assistant Producer: Dave Kelly
Producer: Lisa Nally
Lead image: Samuel Casey
Publicity: Conleth Teevan
Set Constructor: Stephen Bourke
Ops: Eimear Conroy and Oliver Kampman
Crew: Jack Leitch and David Van Wolvelaere
Photography: Owen Clarke
Presented by LemonSoap Productions in association with Project Arts Centre and An Grianán Theatre.
Kindly supported by the Arts Council.
Process
Boyfriends is set across many places: a flat, a café, a club, a ballroom, Iceland, to name a few! So the challenge was to create a space that served the play’s quick pace and our very different stages in Dublin and Donegal. We knew there needed to be a bed, but I quickly realised that a double bed would take up a lot of space in the Cube - and maybe it isn’t that interesting to look at as an audience. Standing it upright and making it the centre piece made sense for a story about a situationship. This also solved the problem of where to show the scene titles, as we could project them onto it. The bookshelf was designed so you could sit, stand or lie on it, to give as many options as possible within the limited stage space. On the floor are handwritten sections from B’s notebook, which writer / actor Ultan wrote for me. The dressing of the set was key in making it more believable. I took time to do this once we were in the space armed with boxes of options. The monstera is one of the most popular plants among our generation, so I was glad we had one above the bed! These images above show the steps in my conceptualisation, from a rough sketch to collage and digital model. A few changes that you might notice happened after this, to accomodate safety and rehearsals. The set was built by Stephen who used repurposed wood from two previous sets to create the flats we needed.
A special shout out to production manager Molly, costume designer Toni and stage manager Ross who did amazing work in helping bring the set, costumes and props together. Toni and Ross led the making of Marshmallow, our fan favourite pug pictured below.
Photos by Owen Clarke.
