Frank Barry
Artist Bio
Frank Barry works in theatre. His primary goal has been to bring an urgency of revolt to the stage. He sees the theatre as a revolutionary weapon that has the ability to create change by freeing people’s minds from hackneyed and controll-ing concepts.
Frank was a co-founder of Sheila’s Brush Theatre Company best know for it’s modernization of Newfoundland folk-tales and uncanny adaptations of early 20th century European literature. He has adapted Dostoevsky for the stage as well as Edgar Allen Poe. His show WRECKHOUSE was a satire about the NL tourist ind-ustry that introduced audiences to Newfoundland cannibalism. His play 3Dogs Barking explored the oppressive nature of the inescapable stigmas that blight the lives of small town people. MEAT looks at the lives of Newfoundlanders who are economic refugees working at a meat plant in Alberta. Food Court is a children’s play that puts Big Junk Food in the witness box. The Laughing Libido Cabaret is an existentialist farce that portrays the myriad perversions that engulf a group of theatre artists who sell their soul for sustaining funding. The list goes on.
Frank has received awards from the NL Arts and Letters Competition for his drama and poetry. His influences are very broad and include most art mediums. His favourite writer is Albert Camus and his favourite painter is Francis Bacon. He has received funding from Arts NL as well as The Canada Council. Although never sustaining.
He is presently working on his play The Strange Case of Madame D. inspired by the life and works of Marguerite Duras. As well he is beginning collaboration with dancer Sarah Joy Stoker on Escape From Babel a dance show that will bring the international refugee crisis to the stage. Frank lives and works in St. John’s, NL.
Artist Statement
In my painting, I want first of all to produce a feeling. Movement produces energy. Suspended movement produces tension. Something is going to happen. We shouldn’t look at paintings - we should watch them. If you watch a painting for long enough you will detect signs of life struggling to be reborn.