FURTHERMORE
By Gerry Moran
I like a bit of theatre and the theatre that I especially like is a One Man/One Woman show perhaps because it’s in the back of my mind to write and perform one someday. Mind you, that thought has been in the back of my mind for 40 years now. But, you never know – one of these days, right?
The first One Man show I saw was in the Peacock Theatre in Dublin in 1974. My flatmate John Cleere had complimentary tickets and off we went to see the great Eamon Morrissey perform The Brother based on the writings of Myles Na gCopaleen (Brian O Nualláin aka Flann O’Brien). I absolutely loved it. Morrissey was brilliant. Throughout the performance, he drank several pints of stout, the famous ‘pint of plain’, made famous by Myles.
At this time my ‘poison’ was a pint of Smithwicks. Well, I couldn’t wait to leave the Peacock and drink a creamy, pint of stout. Which I did in the Long Bar in Abbey Street. And it was Guinness all the way after that until the heatwave of summer 1976 when I resorted to ale, far more agreeable in the heat.
I subsequently saw the late, great Donal O’Brien perform The Brother here in Kilkenny and he was every bit as brilliant as Eamon Morrissey. The Brother was the standard by which I measured every One-Man show. And that remained unchallenged until Mikel Murfi came along with The Man In The Woman’s Shoes (in the Watergate) about Pat Farnon who walks into town and back. What could be simpler? It was funny, tender, at times daft, totally engaging and downright brilliant. The Brother had competition.
In the Watergate Theatre again, I saw Underneath by Corkman Pat Kinevane – “a black comedy about a life lived in secret, a testament to those who live on the fringes”.
“Hilarious, harrowing and heart-breaking, a devastatingly brilliant piece of theatre,” said The irish Examiner. And I couldn’t agree more. More competition for The Brother.
Indigestion by Seamus O’Rourke I saw in the Barnstorm Theatre venue in the Home Rule. Another brilliant One-Man show. “Indigestion is a story of hope where laughter and tears join hands and race us through 50 years of madness and a life always slightly out of control.” I absolutely loved it. Yet more competition for The Brother.
So, we now have The Brother, The Man In The Woman‘s Shoes, Underneath and Indigestion – all marvellous One Man shows which you really should get to see if they resurface.
And then along comes Shirley. Shirley Valentine. Shirley is a housewife from Liverpool who feels trapped in her marriage; tired of cooking egg and chips for an unappreciative husband, she accepts an invite from her friend Jane to visit a Greek island. Shirley jumps at the chance and finds joy in her life again thanks to a dalliance with a local taverna owner.
Penned by Willy Russell, he of the musical Blood Brothers and Educating Rita fame, Shirley Valentine was performed recently in the Thomastown Concert Hall by our own Clare Gibbs [pictured]. I have seen Clare in numerous productions down the years but this, One Woman show, was Clare at her absolute best and utterly deserving of the standing ovations she received each night. Thank you, Clare. And thank you, Mary Cradock, legend of the Kilkenny stage, for your excellent direction. And thank you, Gerry Cody, and all at Lake Productions for providing such wonderful entertainment. Thank you Seamus Quigley, and the staff of the Thomastown Concert Hall, for the tea and biscuits, free of charge, at the interval – a wonderful gesture. I thoroughly enjoyed my cup of tea and the Ginger Nuts that I like to think I dunked with theatrical aplomb!
And on the topic of sustenance we had a most delightful meal in Tabu, a tapas bar just across the road from the Thomastown Concert Hall. Tabu, if opening hours coincide with theatre hours, is perfect for a pre-theatre meal. Oh, and you can get some calamari there – a dish that Shirley explained to her fellow English diners, in Greece, was octopus! They bolted.
Finally, what I love about Shirley Valentine is that there’s no certainty as to how things might pan out for Shirley, and Joe, in the end.
