2005

Jock & the Beanstalk - The Year of the Hiker

Jock & the Beanstalk

Directed by Doug Fox Roberts

Reviewed by Joe Flaherty (Longford Leader)

The local Backstage Theatre group’s annual panto production just seems to get better and better and this time round, writer and director, Doug Fox Roberts excelled himself with a uniquely Longford version of the Jack and the Beanstalk fable.
The panto is all about children and for the adults the attractions include seeing the children’s expression and reactions as they get caught up in the excitement of it all.
A great cast, who are willing and able to laugh at themselves and to put themselves in some truly inconceivable scenarios is the formula for a successful panto and it now looks as if the Backstage Group should patent theirs.

The hero of the two hour show was Jock or the barber from the Market Sq, as we know him, Declan Donohoe. He kept the show together brilliantly and engaged the young, and not so young audience, at every opportunity. That was a tall order, in what was essentially a very slick and fast moving production.
Panto has really come of age in Longford and the team pushed out the boundaries this time with top class props, costumes and lighting. Worthy of special mention also was the choreography which fell to three young members of the group’s youth wing, Rachel Nevin, Patrina Prunty and Lorelei Fox Roberts, who is a daughter of the director.
Jock is the only son in what could not be described as a stereotypical dysfunctional Scottish family and in the face of impending eviction, they resolve to sell their cow, Windscale. In line with the fairy tale however, foolish Jock elects to sell the cow for a tin of magic beans.
Of course at this stage he’s head over heels in love with Margaret, played by Celine Kilemade. As an added complication she is the daughter of the landlord/laird, played by Jim Davey.

As you’d expect there is a very happy ending to the tale but along the way the theatre simply rocked to some great laughs and choice songs. The Three Ugly Sisters were played by Christian Dann, Mark Loftus and Micheal Wall and they revelled in their roles. They were brilliant with Dann outstanding and it seems that he emphasises his ability with every role that he tackles. We can look forward to seeing him again later in the year in the group’s production of The Year of the Hiker.

Another key role was played by Paul Higgins, who was Jock’s mother and an uglier bird, you’ll never see. Needless to say she thought she was gorgeous and that added to the comedy.
Jim Davey did well as the wimpish Laird/landlord and he would not want to be depending on his hapless but very funny bodyguards in an emergency. These were played by Orla McLoughlin and Niamh Donlon. Another great Backstage favourite is Maureen Dunne and her apprentice and fairy was Ingrid Nevin - a name for the future.
Cunning stage craft unveiled the fearsome and loathsome giant to us and even the most hardened of adults were nervous at the prospect of encountering the giant.
At this stage Jock, his mother and three sisters had all climbed the beanstalk only to be intercepted by the Giant’s disturbingly efficient housekeeping, Niall Gannon and a team of guards. One of the highlights of the show was when the bodyguards - complete with water guns chased around the theatre to round up Jock and family. There wasn’t a dry patron in the house afterwards.

Rounded up, Jock and family were herded into the giant’s stewpot and things were looking bleak until the Fairy Godmother returned and reduced the awesome giant to a much more manageable and pleasant Mary Rogers.
A firm favourite with audiences over the week was Windscale the Cow or Dee Butt and Betty Martin in real life. Apparently Dee was to play the cow’s rear end at the outset but she turned claustrophobic and so Betty had to do all the hard work.
Another favourite was the goose, who was played brilliantly for most of the week by Jack Considine and the way he flung himself at the floor, he has to have a future as a stunt man. We said most of the week because the youngster had the audacity to travel across the water to see Man Utd play early in the run. In his absence, Morgan Kelly was an excellent stand-in.

One of the best scenes was when the Monster started to pick off the ugly sisters and despite pleas, warnings and screams from the audience, a hapless Jock couldn’t grasp what was happening. The monster was a multi-purpose Frank Farrell who then returned for the closing scene as a high stepping Riverdance inspired cow.
Slash McTavish was the drunken ballad singer and he’ll be familiar to Backstage regulars as Sean Mulroy and he helped add a nice touch to proceedings when patrons discovered him busking outside afterwards.

All told, this was a great show by the local group and it clearly benefitted from many long hours of rehearsing and work. Alas the real star of the event was in the wings for most of the night and we’ll just have to speculate on what fanciful escapades Doug Fox Roberts is already dreaming up for us in 2006.
Well done to all. 

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The Year of the Hiker

Directed by Mick Reilly

Reviewed by Adrian Cusack

13/10/2005, Backstage Theatre

The applause lasted long after the cast took their bow and the curtain went down at the end of last Thursday's performance of The Year of the Hiker by the Backstage Theatre Group.   The ovation was richly deserved, for the cast and production crew had just delivered a strong and powerful performance of John B Keane's drama. It had opened at the Backstage Theatre just two nights previously, but by Thursday this production was already a well-oiled machine trundling down the road with a real sense of purpose.

Keane's play tells the story of a rural Irish family which is thrown into turmoil when the father of the household (the Hiker) returns home after a twenty-year absence. The young children he left behind are now adults, and his wife Kate is an angry wreck after fretting  and raising their children without him for two decades. His wife's sister, aunt Freda, emerges as another key character, having placed herself between the couple during their eight years of marriage before the Hiker left for the road.

Keane's thoughtful play explores the issues that are raised when the Hiker, now a sick and weary man, returns to seek forgiveness and a place to die. In many ways it is a sad story but it also underlines the importance of family. It was brought to life with skill and care by the Backstage cast.

Director Mick Reilly had overseen a 1992 production of the play in Longford and his familiarity with the tone of the material was evident throughout. It also helped that he had a team of seven fine actors to work with. Christian Dann, the youngest cast member, was effective in his role as the cocky Simie Lacey. "You're just a curiosity - you don't mean anything to me," he tells the Hiker, but his body language suggests otherwise.

Anne Egan played Kate Lacey, the Hiker's long-suffering wife, and really captured the suffering that her character had to endure over the years. Eileen Murphy was excellent in her role as the meddling aunt Freda, while Liz Leavy and Declan Neville accurately played the newly-married couple Mary Lacey and Willie Dolly.

However two of the key roles in the play were those of the Hiker (played by Gus Hanley) and his eldest son Joe (Peter Kilemade). Poor performances in either of these roles could have rendered the play a wash-out. Fortunately, both were superb. After the Hiker left, Joe was forced to become a makeshift father to the family from an early age. He was initially filled with rage when his estranged father returned, but he eventually takes pity on the old man and talks of his childhood before the Hiker left. "You were God and man rolled into one," he weeps, when he and the Hiker are alone. Peter Kilemade didn't put a foot wrong in this role. It is hard to imagine the character being played more effectively than it was in this production.

Gus Hanley, meanwhile, evoked all the wizened experience of the Hiker. He is full of regret after years of aimless wandering. "My greatest crime was that I killed his wanderin' innocence," he says of his son, Joe.

This was not light entertainment, but it was heartening to see a large and appreciative crowd supporting the production.   Given the standards set by The Year of the Hiker, the satisfied punters will surely be back for more when the Backstage group takes to the stage again.

Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

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