Three shows have now been performed in the run of ‘Mother’s little treasure’ at the Pearse Centre. The audience has increased night on night, which is satisfying. Tonight being Friday and tomorrow being Saturday we are now entering the special nights. These were always going to be the blockbuster nights. Continue reading Last chance saloon: ‘Mother’s little treasure’
Opening night is complete. What a buzz. My fingernails are bitten to the quick. I took the executive decision last night to sit among the audience to laugh loudly at the places I thought they should be laughing. Just in case they needed any encouragement. It’s not that I am being arrogant. Or as delusional as the main character Maureen Moore is about the classiness of a leopard-print wardrobe. I was just nervous that they would sit there in stony faced silence and crush all my dreams by falling asleep. The house lights went down. The voiceover began.
‘Good evening ladies, gentlemen and others. Welcome to Firedoor Theatre’s production of Mother’s Little Treasure…’ I gulped and grasped the side of the seat in a vice-like grip. The show was on the road. Continue reading Opening night: ‘Mother’s little treasure’
One of the deeply glamourous side effects of diabetes is blindness caused by diabetic retinopathy. This is where diabetes induced damage is caused to the retina. Over 80% of diabetics who have had the disease for 20 years or more will get retinopathy. Not all people with retinopathy will go blind thankfully. I have been diabetic for forty years since I was but a toddler. For some bizarre reason my eyesight is still intact. Every year I go to a special eye clinic where a nice woman takes a photograph of inside my eye, sends it away to a lab for analysis and issues the result. Continue reading The smokey eyes of Midnight Murphy
Today was the official ‘get in’ day to the theatre – the day which we can start preparing the theatre – the backstage; the sound and light desks; the prop desk etc. And have a few run throughs on stage before the tech and dress rehearsal on Monday. All in anticipation of the main event – opening night on Tuesday. Continue reading Our first audience: ‘Mother’s little treasure’
As luck would have it, I am working from home today. Thanks to a mishap with my toilet, I needed to call a plumber to repair the flush on my throne. It is a far more efficient idea than the temporary practise of flushing with a bucket of water. This allowed me to sit in my pyjamas and plot my strategy. Continue reading Theatrical: I know what I am talking about
Yesterday was the final rehearsal in the studio for my looming play ‘Mother’s Little Treasure’. Next weekend is the get-in to the theatre. When the fun and frolics begin in earnest. As luck would have it Dublin is on total lockdown next weekend as the Pope is in town. He’ll be doing two gigs – one in the Phoenix Park for half a million faithful; and the other in Croke Park for 80,000 people. The entire city centre is shut from about 8am on Saturday morning, until midnight on Sunday night. Highly inconvenient for an atheist trying to carry the set for a play, to a theatre for a Tuesday premiere. Continue reading Theatrical: ‘Mother’s little treasure’
In February 2017, Firedoor Theatre held one of their successful ‘Uncut’ evenings at the Pearse Centre in Dublin. This is a regular showcase event where writers, actors, directors are given a platform to try out material. If you have written a piece then you can stage it. A particular monologue you’ve always wanted to try out in front of an audience – well here is your opportunity. Continue reading The return of ‘Mother’s Little Treasure’
My original tickets were for Friday July 20th. However as I was sunning myself in Malta on that date, somebody else got the use of them. Having seen his previous play ‘Town is Dead’, I was keen to see Irish playwright Phillip McMahon’s latest work ‘Come on home’ at the Peacock Theatre. I booked a new ticket for last night. Continue reading Theatrical: ‘Come on home’
Last night I went to see ‘The Laramie Project’ – the final production by the students at the Gaiety School of Acting. Based on the 2000 play by Moisés Kaufman and the Tectonic Theater Project, about the reaction to the 1998 homophobic murder of gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard in the small town of Laramie. The play draws on hundreds of interviews conducted by the theatre company with inhabitants of the town, journal entries, and published news reports. Last night ten actors portrayed more than sixty characters in a series of short scenes. Continue reading Theatrical: ‘The Laramie Project’
Currently in preview at the Gate Theatre is the stage adaptation of Roddy Doyle’s book ‘The Snapper’. The official opening is on Wednesday 20th June. Theatrical etiquette rules that reviewers don’t review plays until opening night. Preview shows are intended to allow the director and the cast to iron out any last minute issues with the play. I am going to ignore that rule – for the simple reason that I paid full whack for my preview ticket (no freebies for regular audience members). As the show I saw, was the fourth preview performance, if they are not about 99% stage ready by this point then they never will be. Continue reading Theatrical: ‘The Snapper’ at the Gate
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