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2007
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BYT ONE ACT
PLAYS 2010
Backstage Youth
Theatre (BYT) took to the stage on Friday 14th and Saturday
15th May to perform their annual one-act plays. This year
the talented young actors and actresses performed two plays, entitled
'None the Wiser' and 'Wake Up, Sleeping Beauties', with music from
local band, Surge, at the end. As per usual, the performers put on a
wonderful show, keeping the audience laughing out loud for the night.
Each year without fail, BYT show an enormous amount of stage talent,
and this year was no exception.
NONE THE
WISER
The first play, which kicked off at 8pm, was 'None
the Wiser', a witty comedy written by Anthony Booth and directed
by Pat-Joe McLoughlin, who has directed numerous plays for BYT over
the years.
The play, which runs at about 40
minutes, was a light-hearted comedy centred around a convent of nuns.
At first, we are introduced to five of these pious young women, but we
soon learn that all is not what it seems as it is revealed that they
are, in fact, a clan of thieves! However their world is turned
upside-down when another pair of nuns arrive on their doorstep,
suitcases and all, ready to stay. The following scene was one of utter
chaos, with newspapers being flung in every direction, smoke being
blown away, and the false nuns running in circles; it was, of course,
met with roars of laughter from the enthusiastic audience. Yet still
all was not as it seemed, and with even more twists to come, we were
kept entertained and engaged by the hilarious story.
While the characters themselves
are in fact somewhat older, the young actors stepped up to the
challenge and, habits and crosses in place, made the play their own.
Not taking from any of the performances on the night, one actress who
must be particularly commended is Sharon Sorohan, who shone in the
part of confident and somewhat domineering Vera, Mother Superior. She
played a brilliant role as head of the group, and kept the audience
captivated for the night. Of course, the character of Bess (played by
Shannon Brady) was another who owned the stage. From her hatred of
peppermints to her extravagant pink hat, she had the audience in
stitches the entire evening. The entire cast left no doubt in anyone's
mind of the amount of talent that is to be seen in the youth of
Longford.
Anita Prunty
WAKE UP, SLEEPING BEAUTIES
Backstage Youth Theatre’s production of ‘Wake
up, Sleeping Beauties’ by Deirdre Molloy portrayed with vigour
just how high the standard of youth drama is in the county with the
huge talent among our young actors.
The play follows the lives of five
fairy-tale characters, some more conformed than others! Behind the
alternative fairy-tale is a plot about feminism and retaliation but
told in the most comedic of ways.
Playing the role of Rapunzel was
the delightfully vibrant Niamh Mahon who added humour and a sense of
eagerness to the famous princess who, needless to say, wasn’t your
typical stereotype. Niamh commanded the role with such zeal that the
audience became entranced in her comical rants and aspirations.
The adorable twosome of Snow White
and Cindy (colloquial for the distinguished Cinderella) played by
real-life twins Avril and Alison Brennan had the audience in Backstage
Theatre giggling at their endearing antics. Alison gave Cinderella a
previously unrecognised air of wittiness and slight silliness that one
could not help but fall in love with. Avril created a modern Snow
White with plenty of dynamism.
The ruthless Queen Maebh was
played by Carolyn Egan who exuded authority and presence against even
the Handsome Prince! Sleeping Beauty was played by Bernadine Brady,
sly and crafty but nonetheless hilarious as she broke away from the
customs of fairytale practices.
However, one of the most
outstanding performances of the night was no doubt Darragh Cooney who
played the role of the infamous Prince. Darragh gave the role a
love-hate persona with side-splitting dialogue and mirthful mannerisms
that had the audience in uproar; it’s not surprising that Darragh
was recently selected to perform in the National Youth Theatre’s
upcoming production this Summer.
Credit must of course be given to
director Paul Higgins who directs consistently flawless productions
for Backstage Youth Theatre every year, adding an extra spark to these
plays. We look forward to more talent from these young actors in the
future.
Sarah Carthy
Babes
in the Wood Jan 2009
Saturday 31st
January saw the final night of Backstage Theatre Group’s latest
pantomime ‘Babes In The Wood’. The story, written by Norman
Robbins, revolves around ‘The Babes’ Jack and Jill who, after the
death of their father, travel to Nottingham with their Nanny ‘Nurse
Glucose’ to find their uncle, who just happens to be the Sherriff of
Nottingham. On hearing that the Babes have been left £50,000 in their
father’s will, the Sherriff employs the services of Toyle and
Trubble to kidnap and kill the babes. However, with the help of Robin
Hood, Maid Marion and The Merry Men, the Sherriff’s plans are foiled
and all get to live happily ever after (except the nasty Sherriff of
course!)
Babes In
The Wood has all the classic elements of a pantomime; heroes and
villains, song and dance, slapstick and silliness as well as lots of
local references and audience participation. This is Declan
Donohoe’s second year to direct the pantomime, and this production
was as slick and professional as you would expect from any Backstage
production. And that is no mean feat when one considers the number of
new, and young, faces on the stage. Only six of the principal cast
were members of Backstage Theatre Group (BTG), with everyone else on
stage being a member of Backstage Youth Theatre (BYT). The eponymous
‘Jack & Jill’ were played by the immensely talented Darragh
Greene & Valarie Kurkin, the ‘Narrator’ by the excellent
Michael Walshe, the ‘Bailiff’ by the officious Sharon Sorahan and
‘Alan A-Dale’ by the musical Darragh Cooney, none of whom were
phased in any way by sharing the stage with their more senior
counterparts. Add to that, a chorus of thirty-five BYT members, and
one can only imagine the talent and potential that exists within the
young people of Longford. Bravo to Backstage Theatre Group and BYT for
harnessing that talent and realising the potential! Back to the show,
and the rest of the new faces; Shane Leavy is a brand new face to
panto but he took to the role of ‘Robin Hood’ like a hero, and
partnered by the beautiful Emma McGrane in her first panto role, as
‘Maid Marion’, they made a suitably gorgeous couple. Another new
face was Jo Dooley, in the role of ‘Nurse Glucose’ and she was
superb. This lady was born to be on a stage, and I have no doubt that
we will be seeing her in shows in Longford for many years to come. The
very familiar face of Jim Davey absolutely revelled in the chance to
play the ultimate bad guy, ‘The Sherriff of Nottingham’. Using all
his talent and experience, he had the audience booing his every
entrance and exit. Another familiar face, and long-standing BTG
member, was Paul Higgins, who piled on the pounds to play the very
rotund ‘Friar Tuck’. However, the night belonged to one new face
and one young face. Jim Maher and Darren Yorke as the hapless villains
‘Toyle & Trubble’ stole the show so shamelessly that they
should be charged with kleptomania! This was Maher’s first stage
role, and I would bet your house that it won’t be his last. Yorke
has been the rising star of BYT for a few years now, and has already
appeared in The Peacock Theatre doing Shakespeare with the National
Youth Theatre. This boy will go far!
Highlights
of the show for me were; the use of the Pink Panther Music when the
robbers try to sneak up on Marion (absolute genius); Toyle and
Trubble’s elongated fight scene (side-splittingly funny) the school
scene, and the dream sequence where all of Jack and Jill’s toys come
to life. Huge credit must be given to choreographer Natasha
Fitzpatrick for that sequence, and for the three other big song and
dance numbers which involved all of the chorus. As this was the last
night of an eight show run, one would expect that all the technical
aspects; light, sound, costume, make-up etc would be spot-on, and they
were. There was also a very high energy to the show, which was great
so see, considering the number of performances already done. A factor
in this energy must have been the fantastic final night crowd, who
clapped and cheered every action on the stage, and at the end rose to
their feet to give the cast a well-deserved standing ovation. A
fitting end to an excellent show – oh, yes it was!
|
Daddy's
Gone a Hunting &
Hidden
Meanings Oct 2008
|
Backstage
Theatre Group unveiled their latest offering last weekend,
and if audience reaction is anything to go by, then the
future of local drama is in very good hands. It was never
going to be an easy task to follow the success of their last
production, Lovely Leitrim, but they managed it. In this
time of recession, money is scarce and luxuries like
entertainment, be it theatre, cinema, concerts, eating out
etc, are usually the first to suffer, but two full houses on
Friday and Saturday night only served to prove the strength
of support there is in Longford for ‘home-grown’
productions. And when you take into account the number of
great shows coming to the theatre in the very near future,
the group must be thrilled with the turn-out.
Supporting
local effort is one thing, but once someone buys their
ticket and takes their seat, they are entitled to be
entertained and get value for money. Gone are the days when
you could put any old thing up on a stage, and expect people
to hand over their hard earned cash out of some sort of
civic pride. Well, the punters definitely got their
money’s worth here!
The
first of the two one-act plays reunited director Declan
Fallon with Elizabeth Leavy, fresh from their success with
Tarmonbarry Macra. In ‘Daddy’s Gone A-Hunting’,
Elizabeth played ‘Liz’, a woman living in a small
high-rise flat, with her boyfriend ‘Simon’ (Thomas
Brady) and their six-week old baby, Max. Things starts
innocently enough. Simon’s sister, ‘Rebecca’ (Natasha
Fitzpatrick) arrives, and brother and sister leave to visit
their mother, and then all hell breaks loose! ‘Tony’
(Benny O’Brien) enters, grabbing Liz by the throat and
throwing her on the couch. What follows is a story of
obsession taken to its most dangerous, and terrifying,
conclusion. Tony has been stalking Liz for years, ever since
a brief relationship in college, which resulted in Liz
aborting their child. Things take a twist when we find out
that Tony is also ‘Ken’, Rebecca’s boy-friend. The
tension mounts, with Liz, now a hostage, trying in turn to
placate, reason with, trick and outwit the increasingly
psychotic Tony. Ultimately, he realises that he can never
win her back, so he grabs the baby’s cot and threatens to
jump from the balcony, killing them both. Thankfully, Liz
had switched the baby, and while they struggle on the
balcony, Liz manages to push him over. Crisis averted! There
is a lot to think about in this play, and the issues raised
are not for the faint-hearted. Credit to the director for
taking on such meaty subject matter. All four actors were
very strong, with Elizabeth Leavy and Benny O’Brien giving
powerful performances in two extremely challenging roles.
It
proved to be a game of two halves as, after the interval,
hilarity reigned. The second play ‘Hidden Meanings’,
directed by Gus Hanley, was a fast-paced English comedy,
bordering on farce. It wasn’t so much a ‘who-dunnit?’
as a ‘who-didn’t-do-it?’ Jim Davey played a Sherlock
Holmes enthusiast who kills ‘Charles’, his accountant,
to cover up the embezzlement of £300,000. John Kelly is his
‘Watson’, and Christine O’Brien, his long-suffering
wife. The plot of this play would confuse even the great
detective, but in short, as each character enters, they
invariably admit to having killed Charles either by design,
or by accident. Elaine McDonald played Charles’ wife,
Niamh Quinn, his personal assistant, Josephine Lane-Flynn,
the house-keeper, and Emma McGrane, her pregnant daughter.
Paddy Phipps was the inspector from the Fraud Squad, who
arrests ‘Watson’, one of the few people who did not
actually kill him. The play ends with Charles (Gerry
Gorman), who is not quite dead after all, handing the
policeman a suicide note! Again, a very strong cast, with no
weak links made this an hilarious end to the evening. Messrs
Davey and Kelly carried most of the early action, but all
the supporting cast played their parts, and the timing,
pacing and overall direction of the piece really shone
through.
Overall,
the group should be very proud of this production. They
provided two very contrasting plays, with something for
everyone. The standard of acting, direction, as well as the
technical areas, was extremely high, and I am sure that the
sizeable audiences who thoroughly enjoyed the night’s
entertainment will be looking forward to the group’s next
production.
|
Lovely Leitrim
...April 2008
Leitrim delivers for thriving local group
Director Ollie Kenny flagged the final act of this play
as one of the finest endings to a play that he had ever
seen or read. It was high praise for a production, given
his wealth of experience in stage productions. Thankfully,
it didn’t disappoint.
Lovely Leitrim is the first in the John McDwyer
‘Leitrim trilogy’ and is among the bleaker of the
three, reminding us of an Ireland that saw emigration as a
way of life, a natural decision that had profound
implications for rural Ireland and for rural families.
Mary Gallagher (Eileen Murphy) makes a dying wish that
their land in the hills of Leitrim be sold off and her
husband Martin (Peter Walsh) be brought to London to live
with her son Peadar (Philip Cox).
While well-intended, it’s a decision that has grave
implication on the family she leaves behind, in particular
Peadar, who is bitter about the hand that life has dealt
him. It leads to an emotionally-charged evening in a
London pub, where reality dawns for Peadar and truths are
told.
While the deep sense of lives lost prevails over the
play, there are the witty, sharply-written moments that
provide a welcome relief.
Given the variety of emotions, it’s a play that
allows actors to delve deep and produce memorable
performances, as exemplified by Philip Cox, who was superb
in the lead role. Eileen Murphy, another actor of immense
experience, gave a memorable performance as the mother who
was granted that fateful dying wish. The scene in the
kitchen, between their characters (Peadar and his mother),
was as memorable and emotive as the closing scene.
While not the laugh-a-minute that ‘Unforgiven’ is,
it does have its memorable comedic lines, many of which
were delivered by Declan Neville’s character, Clocker
Lynch - “Above on a bloody mountain (in Leitrim) where
they have to take the horns off the cattle so they can get
their head between the rocks for a bit of grass”.
Neville was again on fine form in this production, as was
Peter Walsh as Martin Gallagher, the husband who had to
sell and leave his homestead to set up home in London with
his son.
The play marked the 20th anniversary for the Backstage
Theatre Group. Those two decades have seen many challenges
and plenty of rewards for the company, not least the
fantastic facility of Backstage Theatre, which continues
to provide superb all-round entertainment for the local
hinterland.
Looking to the future, the challenges will continue,
though of a different nature than the ones posed to the
committee of 20 years ago. It’s a bright future, one
that can only prosper given the talent that took to the
stage in Lovely Leitrim, where standing ovations were
received most nights.
Neil
Halligan
Longford Leader
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'Private Wars' & 'The Miasma
in Mostyn Mews' (October 2007)
Backstage Theatre Group continue to produce outstanding One
Acts for our entertainment and this year was no exception.
This year’s One Acts ran last week and were hugely enjoyed
by their audiences.
The first of the two, “PVT
Wars”, was written by James McLure and directed by Pat
Joe McLoughlin. This dark yet moving play was about three
Vietnam veterans, wounded both physically and
psychologically, passing their days in an army hospital.
Emotional scars keep the three men entrapped, regardless of
the fact that they repeatedly tell one another, as if
brainwashed, ''You can leave anytime you want''.
Gately (Phil Cox), is a mild-mannered Southern farm boy
attempting to escape the failures of his father. As
the seemingly balanced member of the trio, reciting
''Hiawatha'' he constantly fiddles with a radio under
repair, while his efforts are continually undermined by the
other two characters.
Natwick (Brendan Williams,) is a stiff, intelligent,
self-hating product of a privileged and cultured life,
who’s the victim of Silvio’s bullying and thinks of
suicide – well, sort of.
Silvio (Stephen McHugh), half-crazed in a woollen dressing
gown, is a macho, self-proclaimed ladies' man who's
compelled to flash nurses and whose resentment of Natwick's
upper class upbringing results in his recurrent displays of
violence.
The beginning of the play demonstrates the comic high jinks
that occur as the men interact with each other. Silvio’s
complete misunderstanding of Gately’s story about the
‘balls’ of his feet is hilarious and Gately’s later
surprise that someone might be reluctant to eat a peach as
Natwick attempts to explain his out-of-place literary
reference is truly priceless.
There's also the acknowledgement, as the title suggests, that
beyond the wounds of battle, these men have their own
long-enduring private ‘wars’ to overcome.
Towards the end of the play, an all-consuming gloom and
despair overtakes the play, temporarily erasing all memories
of earlier laughter and suspending the entire audience on
the edges of their seats. Even Gately's victory over his
broken radio seems a lesser triumphant moment than expected
when in comparison to the outright misery of his fellow
patients.
The three actors make an extremely engaging trio, each creating
physically and vocally distinctive characters and bringing praiseworthy
conviction to their performances.
| Cast: |
|
| Gately |
Phil
Cox |
| Natwick |
Brendan
Williams |
| Silvio |
Stephen
Mc Hugh |
The second of the two plays was “The Miasma In Mostyn Mews”, written by Alan Odgen and directed
by Paul Higgins.
This lively, humorous play is about the countless attempts
of a young couple, Iris and Archie Cooper (Claire Devine and
Paul O’Regan), to combat a ‘miasma’ or poisonous
atmosphere seeping up through the floorboards of their
council home and inflicting an arthritis-like sickness on
the once strong and able-bodied Archie. In the beginning of
the play the loud yet comical Iris recounts how she em, vocally
persuaded the council to carry out an inquiry.
Soon after, she and Archie discover from their neighbour,
Miss Beddowes (Josephine Lane-Flynn), that the contamination
is not confined solely to their home and may be throughout
their neighbourhood.
The comedy really kicks off upon the arrival of Mr
Biddlecombe (Peter Kilemade) the bureaucratic housing
inspector, accompanied by his enthusiastic and highly
organised assistant Samantha (Liz Leavy) and Nigel (Davy
Flaherty) a naive trainee housing inspector.
When Mr Biddlecombe attempts to conceal the reason behind
the toxic vapour and place the blame on the Coopers, they
with the help of Miss Beddowes and the now disenchanted
Nigel and Samantha take matters into their own hands. This
amounts to a side-splitting conclusion no one could help but
laugh out loud at.
The use of special effects and lighting towards the end of
the play to give the miasma a sinister visible form was
highly effective.
Both plays were extremely engaging and judging by audience
reaction they enjoyed both plays as much as I did. Bring on
next year’s!
Nicola Lyons
| Cast: |
|
| Archie |
Paul
O’Regan |
| Iris |
Claire
Devine |
| Miss
Beddowes |
Josephine
Lane-Flynn |
| Mr.
Biddlecombe |
Peter
Kilemade |
| Samantha |
Liz
Leavy |
| Nigel |
Davy
Flaherty |
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'Dreamjobs' & 'Totally Over You' (May 2007)
Backstage
Youth Theatre staged their annual show in the Backstage
Theatre last weekend. I caught the show on Saturday
night and was very impressed by the talent, confidence
and professionalism on display. The night’s
entertainment consisted of two one-act plays and a
musical ‘interlude’.
The
first play was ‘Dreamjobs’, written by Graham
Jones and directed by Paul Higgins, and centred
around five teenage girls waiting outside the office
of the school’s Career Guidance Officer.
Each girl
had a ‘dream job’ and we got to see four of the
girls’ dreams during well choreographed set pieces;
dancer, air-hostess, model and nurse (the ER parody
was a hoot). We also learned that the last girl was
pregnant and alone. One by one, the four girls
accepted the fact that their abilities and dedication
did not live up to their ambition, and they would be
forced to take ‘meaningless’ jobs in factories and
supermarkets.
The pregnant girl was the only one to
leave happy, as her dream was to be a mother! I
thought this play worked well – the
characterisations and set-pieces were very strong,
with all five actresses confident and secure in their
performances. Erin Brennan shone in the role of
‘Angela’. She has real presence on stage and her
delivery and demeanour showed her as a natural.
The second play was ‘Totally
Over You’, written by Mark Ravenhill and directed by
Declan Donohoe. It dealt with the issue of celebrity
and featured a cast of twenty-four!
The plot of the play dealt with
‘Kitty’ and her attempt to become famous by dating
a celebrity. She enlists the help of her three friends
and their first job is to dump their current
boyfriends. Jake and the other ex-boyfriends plan to
exact their revenge, with the help of their friend
Victor. He, in the guise of a fortune telling
stranger, tells the girls that the guys they have just
dumped are set to become the biggest boy band in the
world, ‘Awesome’.
Victor then enlists the help of
the schools drama group to set up a fake press
conference to launch the band to the world. The girls,
naturally, are distraught and go to the press
conference to win the boys back. The guys are torn but
decide to stick to their guns and tell the girls that
they are ‘totally over them’. However, they cannot
keep up the pretence, and true love wins the day with
all the couples being reunited.
I really enjoyed this play.
There was not a weak performance from such a large
cast, and the characterisations were spot on. The
band’s rendition of the song ‘Totally Over you’
was intentionally hilarious. Darren Yorke as
‘Jake’ deserves a special mention. I have seen him
in previous productions and he is developing in to a
fine young actor. Darragh Cooney was a revelation. He
played three different parts, the geeky Victor, the
‘Oracle’ and the band’s manager, and the
audience reaction to him told its own story. I can’t
wait to see him in his next role.
After
the first play we were treated to new local band
‘Saviour Tears’. Their slick and professional
set-up paved the way for a confident, self-assured
performance that belied their tender years. Their set
contained covers of Artic Monkeys, The Strokes and
Razorlight, finishing with and original song called
‘Love or Lust’.
I
was extremely impressed with the band, and can see
them going a long way if they keep up this kind of
performance. Catch them if they are playing a gig near
you!
Overall, this was a superb
night’s entertainment and all involved should be
very proud of their achievement. Congratulations must
also go to directors, Paul and Declan, who chose two
very good plays and got great performances from
everyone on stage. Backstage Youth Theatre continues
to go from strength to strength, so take a bow
everyone – you earned it!
Brendan
Williams
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Jo Dooley (Nurse Glucose) and Jim Davey
(The Sherriff of Nottingham)
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