Overview

Roland Jaquarello is one of the few directors to have worked in nearly every major Irish theatre and broadcasting organisation, north and south. Born in London, the son of an actor and pianist, he came to Trinity in 1967, via Magee College, Derry. Since then he has been regularly involved in Irish drama or radio production. Consequently, his memoir comes from a unique perspective over six decades. Roland recalls his early student days in the north, his productions with Trinity Players and his first steps into professional theatre, which includes not only his early work at the old Eblana Theatre but also his productions for the Dublin Festival and at the Project. He also gives a first-hand account of his volatile period as Director at The Abbey in the 1970s and the turmoil within that organisation. Roland was Artistic Director at The Lyric Theatre in Belfast, and his determination to develop a new, varied and compelling narrative with the local Belfast audience is vividly described, as he directs new Irish plays, high profile revivals by Arthur Miller, Eugene O'Neill and Tennessee Williams and oversees the visit of a Soviet director to work on a Glasnost play.His move into BBC Radio Drama via Belfast tells of initially struggling with a different medium, the ensuing politics, working with many Irish writers such as Brian Friel, Sebastian Barry and Tom Murphy, and the amazing experiences he had producing music documentaries on Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell, Mel Torme and Marlon Brando. Memoirs of Development is a thoroughly entertaining and candid mixture of insight into life in theatre and broadcasting, with portraits of colleagues such as Liam Neeson, Colm Meaney, Val Kilmer and Marianne Faithfull and many amusing anecdotes along the way. It's the story of how one Englishman developed through an unusual Irish journey.