Friday, October 28, 2016

NEW ROSS Drama Workshop truly excelled itself last week when it performed four short plays to packed houses in the Horse & Hound, Ballinaboola, and St. Michael’s Theatre.

The Echo went along to the theatre and in the company of a very significant crowd enjoyed a wonderful night of comedy and more serious drama.

One Sided Triangle:

The first play was ‘One Sided Triangle’ which was directed by Rojer Whieldon. It centred around three characters, Mike (Martyn Gladney), Brian (Paul Walsh) and Sarah (Sinead Croarkin).

The plot had a wonderful twist in which Brian was duped into being a drugs mule by a scheming Mike and Sarah.

The opening scene showed Brian discussing with Mike how he managed to get an expert to secure him a false passport to get out of Thailand. Unbeknownst to Brian the expert, Sarah, and Mike are actually working together.

The acting was brilliant with Gladney, in particular, displaying the ease in character of a consummate professional. His portrayal of a ‘sophisticated’ British ‘man abroad’ was brilliant to witness.

The set was simple but very effective and highlighted that creating a captivating scene need not cost the world.

Brian came across as being a naïve and somewhat lonely character whose last chance to do something with his life and make a fortune was running drugs!

Perhaps, it was a reflection on the misconception of what ‘contentment’ is all about.

Father & Son:

The second play, ‘Father & Son’, was just a few minutes long, featured just two characters and was brilliant.

John O’Dwyer played the part of a stiff upper lipped British aristocrat to perfection while Sean O’Brien as his son – who revealed he wanted to be a woman – was fantastic.

Before a word was uttered there were sniggers of amusement from the audience – such was the presence of the two actors on stage.

The play, from the pen of Patrick Kavanagh, was full of quirky one-liners and extremely humourous retorts: Son: “Father, I have something shocking to tell you; I want to be a woman.”

Father: “That’s ok my boy, and the shocking part?”

The quirky nature of the script was perhaps exemplified by the father’s slight scolding of his son’s attitude: “If you really want to be a woman you’ll have to be a man about it.”

The father’s advice to his son upon hearing such a revelation: “My advice is find a young lady who wants to be a chap.”

The level of applause from the audience at the end highlighted just how well received this short piece was.

Interior Designs:

‘Interior Designs’, by Jimmie Chinn, was full of off-beat humour while at the same time showcasing some of the darker sides of the human psyche.

It centred around three female characters: Amy (Martina Kavanagh), Holly (Seona O’Connor) and Irene (Kate O’Keeffe), and one male, Him (Edward Hayden).

Amy was a hard-working lone parent who came across as being honest to the core.

Holly was a TV newsreader who went to great pains to remind everyone about that fact at any given opportunity.

Self-obsessed in the extreme her level of self-importance was just about overshadowed by her inherent need to have companionship in her life.

Irene was a solitary teacher whose down-to-earth sophistication led her to have a very matter-of-fact view on life.

‘Him’, as he was constantly referred to, was a handyman with a roving eye for gullible women. He was also the common denominator between the three women as he set about tending to each of their in-house needs.

Each of the actors displayed an immense level of professionalism. Martina Kavanagh was fantastic as the quirky, quick-witted ‘Amy’ while Seona O’Connor was brilliant as the arrogant, yet likeable, ‘Holly’.

Kate O’Keeffe was equally impressive as the stoic ‘Irene’ whose quirkiness was evident in her willingness to accept her lot in life.

Edward Hayden was wonderful in the role of ‘Him’ and delivered quirky one-liners throughout.

While there is a solitary theme running throughout the play it was displayed in a darkly comedic fashion. However, that was offset in stark fashion at one point when the viewers got a glimpse into Amy’s past which hinted at a turbulent relationship bordering on violent.

It was a fantastic play which highlighted the people from different backgrounds can share common feelings of loneliness and desperation.

‘The Last Tango in Little Grimley’:

The final play was one of the funniest theatrical events this writer has ever witnessed in St. Michael’s Theatre.

Written by David Tristram and directed by Peter O’Connor it featured four principal characters: Gordon (Nicky Flynn), Bernard (Martyn Gladney), Joyce (Kitty Warren) and Margaret (Brid Richardson).

The story was that of a small town theatre group facing into the abyss of closure due to consistently poor audience figures, consistent losses, and the threat of eviction from the landlord.

Almost from the off the audience was in stitches as the extremely funny script was executed to perfection by the cast.

Brid Richardson was brilliant as the apparently sophisticated Margaret who [in character not in reality] ultimately turned to flashing her chest to ensure the crowd went away satisfied.

The manner with which this was implied rather than actually displayed was brilliant and was met with a roar of approval from the audience.

The manner with which Martyn Gladney’s character (Bernard) fully endorsed the idea of Margaret resorting to such tactics invoked equal amounts of laughter from the crowd.

Kitty Warren is a veteran of the stage in New Ross and her professionalism was exemplified by her stage presence. The way her character, Joyce, reacted every time the word sex was mentioned was priceless and when Gordon revealed that his idea for a play involved the local vicar dropping in on her while she was in the bath her response was brilliant.

Joyce’s insistence on doing a musical, or having at least one song in the play, was also very amusing throughout.

Nicky Flynn’s character, Gordon, was fantastic as the small down big man with even bigger notions about himself.

This really was a fantastic night of theatre and all credit must go to everyone involved from cast to crew