Brownbread
Thu, 18 Nov 2010, 09:45 amGordon the Optom1 post in thread
Brownbread
Thu, 18 Nov 2010, 09:45 am‘Brownbread’ is a vibrant play, written in the same year as ‘The Commitments’ (1987) by the then 30-years old Booker Prize-winning novelist and screenwriter Roddy Doyle (Ruaidhrí Á“ Dúill to give him his true title). This production is being presented by the Irish Theatre Players at the Irish Club, 61 Townshend Road, Subiaco. Performances until Saturday 20th November. Curtain at 8.00 pm as on the poster, not the time of 8.30 advertised on the Irish Theatre website.
Like ‘The Commitments’, this play is again set in the fictitious North Dublin suburb of Barrytown, a community composed mainly of uneducated, blue-collar workers. The unemployment is huge. So when Donkey’s (Peigi Mehegan) parents go on holiday to Spain and the house is empty, she and her two male friends, boisterous Aidan (Steve Grant) and the quieter John (Alex Culling) have nothing to do. On a whim, they decide to kidnap the Bishop (Jim Motherway) and take him back to Donkey’s upstairs bedroom, in her council house home. John is convinced that in the end they will all be ‘brownbread’.
Within minutes the Gardaí, in the form of a plain-clothes detective (Ian Beaton) and an incompetent constable (Joe Purcell) arrive to start negotiations. They are accompanied by the ever-present radio reporter (Bob Walsh).
When Aidan’s parents (Peter Conlon and Phyllis Graham) join the dialogue can they speed up the process? How will John take to the arrival of his shrill-voiced mother (Denice Byrne)?
Unfortunately for the youngsters the Bishop has a secret. This causes havoc when the army personnel arrive (Steven Hounsome and Kevin Chan).
Doyle’s stories are often very depressing, but lucid pictures of poverty and abuse in Ireland. Here we have a very funny, even zany, comedy. His characters use obscenities like punctuation marks – possibly around two hundred ‘F’ words! Thanks to Doyle’s superb dialogue they seem to get away with it. Originally, Doyle was unable to find a publisher for his first work, so in 1987 he founded King Farouk Press, and printed three thousand copies of ‘ The Commitments’, and attracted a large anti-establishment faction.
The direction (Ivan Motherway, assisted by Ginger Milne) was very good, inventive and captured the mood of the script. The pace was a little slow, but the enthusiasm of the strong cast and the style of delivery was wonderful. The director had the characters that were in the street, positioned in front of the stage shouting up (to the audience) at the youngsters. On the stage, the kidnappers replied through the upstairs bedroom window. This idea was most successful.
The set was typical of a working class bedroom, with tasteless, poorly hung wallpaper. The costumes were very authentic of the period. The sound effects were exceptional (Sean Haining and / or Pat Dunne). The lights however either have a few faulty faders or an anxious operator.
May I suggest that a bell is sounded for the end of the interval? Because flashing the auditorium lights for 4 or 5 minutes is annoying. Just before the play, having someone stand in front of the stage and explain where the toilets are situated and about the style of scene breaks (these should be in the programme, that is what a programme is for) is little unprofessional and unnecessary. Certainly ask for ‘phones to be switched off.
Very funny, very obscene but a most enjoyable, quality production. You might be lucky enough to get a cancellation on this fully booked play.
Like ‘The Commitments’, this play is again set in the fictitious North Dublin suburb of Barrytown, a community composed mainly of uneducated, blue-collar workers. The unemployment is huge. So when Donkey’s (Peigi Mehegan) parents go on holiday to Spain and the house is empty, she and her two male friends, boisterous Aidan (Steve Grant) and the quieter John (Alex Culling) have nothing to do. On a whim, they decide to kidnap the Bishop (Jim Motherway) and take him back to Donkey’s upstairs bedroom, in her council house home. John is convinced that in the end they will all be ‘brownbread’.
Within minutes the Gardaí, in the form of a plain-clothes detective (Ian Beaton) and an incompetent constable (Joe Purcell) arrive to start negotiations. They are accompanied by the ever-present radio reporter (Bob Walsh).
When Aidan’s parents (Peter Conlon and Phyllis Graham) join the dialogue can they speed up the process? How will John take to the arrival of his shrill-voiced mother (Denice Byrne)?
Unfortunately for the youngsters the Bishop has a secret. This causes havoc when the army personnel arrive (Steven Hounsome and Kevin Chan).
Doyle’s stories are often very depressing, but lucid pictures of poverty and abuse in Ireland. Here we have a very funny, even zany, comedy. His characters use obscenities like punctuation marks – possibly around two hundred ‘F’ words! Thanks to Doyle’s superb dialogue they seem to get away with it. Originally, Doyle was unable to find a publisher for his first work, so in 1987 he founded King Farouk Press, and printed three thousand copies of ‘ The Commitments’, and attracted a large anti-establishment faction.
The direction (Ivan Motherway, assisted by Ginger Milne) was very good, inventive and captured the mood of the script. The pace was a little slow, but the enthusiasm of the strong cast and the style of delivery was wonderful. The director had the characters that were in the street, positioned in front of the stage shouting up (to the audience) at the youngsters. On the stage, the kidnappers replied through the upstairs bedroom window. This idea was most successful.
The set was typical of a working class bedroom, with tasteless, poorly hung wallpaper. The costumes were very authentic of the period. The sound effects were exceptional (Sean Haining and / or Pat Dunne). The lights however either have a few faulty faders or an anxious operator.
May I suggest that a bell is sounded for the end of the interval? Because flashing the auditorium lights for 4 or 5 minutes is annoying. Just before the play, having someone stand in front of the stage and explain where the toilets are situated and about the style of scene breaks (these should be in the programme, that is what a programme is for) is little unprofessional and unnecessary. Certainly ask for ‘phones to be switched off.
Very funny, very obscene but a most enjoyable, quality production. You might be lucky enough to get a cancellation on this fully booked play.
Gordon the OptomThu, 18 Nov 2010, 09:45 am
‘Brownbread’ is a vibrant play, written in the same year as ‘The Commitments’ (1987) by the then 30-years old Booker Prize-winning novelist and screenwriter Roddy Doyle (Ruaidhrí Á“ Dúill to give him his true title). This production is being presented by the Irish Theatre Players at the Irish Club, 61 Townshend Road, Subiaco. Performances until Saturday 20th November. Curtain at 8.00 pm as on the poster, not the time of 8.30 advertised on the Irish Theatre website.
Like ‘The Commitments’, this play is again set in the fictitious North Dublin suburb of Barrytown, a community composed mainly of uneducated, blue-collar workers. The unemployment is huge. So when Donkey’s (Peigi Mehegan) parents go on holiday to Spain and the house is empty, she and her two male friends, boisterous Aidan (Steve Grant) and the quieter John (Alex Culling) have nothing to do. On a whim, they decide to kidnap the Bishop (Jim Motherway) and take him back to Donkey’s upstairs bedroom, in her council house home. John is convinced that in the end they will all be ‘brownbread’.
Within minutes the Gardaí, in the form of a plain-clothes detective (Ian Beaton) and an incompetent constable (Joe Purcell) arrive to start negotiations. They are accompanied by the ever-present radio reporter (Bob Walsh).
When Aidan’s parents (Peter Conlon and Phyllis Graham) join the dialogue can they speed up the process? How will John take to the arrival of his shrill-voiced mother (Denice Byrne)?
Unfortunately for the youngsters the Bishop has a secret. This causes havoc when the army personnel arrive (Steven Hounsome and Kevin Chan).
Doyle’s stories are often very depressing, but lucid pictures of poverty and abuse in Ireland. Here we have a very funny, even zany, comedy. His characters use obscenities like punctuation marks – possibly around two hundred ‘F’ words! Thanks to Doyle’s superb dialogue they seem to get away with it. Originally, Doyle was unable to find a publisher for his first work, so in 1987 he founded King Farouk Press, and printed three thousand copies of ‘ The Commitments’, and attracted a large anti-establishment faction.
The direction (Ivan Motherway, assisted by Ginger Milne) was very good, inventive and captured the mood of the script. The pace was a little slow, but the enthusiasm of the strong cast and the style of delivery was wonderful. The director had the characters that were in the street, positioned in front of the stage shouting up (to the audience) at the youngsters. On the stage, the kidnappers replied through the upstairs bedroom window. This idea was most successful.
The set was typical of a working class bedroom, with tasteless, poorly hung wallpaper. The costumes were very authentic of the period. The sound effects were exceptional (Sean Haining and / or Pat Dunne). The lights however either have a few faulty faders or an anxious operator.
May I suggest that a bell is sounded for the end of the interval? Because flashing the auditorium lights for 4 or 5 minutes is annoying. Just before the play, having someone stand in front of the stage and explain where the toilets are situated and about the style of scene breaks (these should be in the programme, that is what a programme is for) is little unprofessional and unnecessary. Certainly ask for ‘phones to be switched off.
Very funny, very obscene but a most enjoyable, quality production. You might be lucky enough to get a cancellation on this fully booked play.
Like ‘The Commitments’, this play is again set in the fictitious North Dublin suburb of Barrytown, a community composed mainly of uneducated, blue-collar workers. The unemployment is huge. So when Donkey’s (Peigi Mehegan) parents go on holiday to Spain and the house is empty, she and her two male friends, boisterous Aidan (Steve Grant) and the quieter John (Alex Culling) have nothing to do. On a whim, they decide to kidnap the Bishop (Jim Motherway) and take him back to Donkey’s upstairs bedroom, in her council house home. John is convinced that in the end they will all be ‘brownbread’.
Within minutes the Gardaí, in the form of a plain-clothes detective (Ian Beaton) and an incompetent constable (Joe Purcell) arrive to start negotiations. They are accompanied by the ever-present radio reporter (Bob Walsh).
When Aidan’s parents (Peter Conlon and Phyllis Graham) join the dialogue can they speed up the process? How will John take to the arrival of his shrill-voiced mother (Denice Byrne)?
Unfortunately for the youngsters the Bishop has a secret. This causes havoc when the army personnel arrive (Steven Hounsome and Kevin Chan).
Doyle’s stories are often very depressing, but lucid pictures of poverty and abuse in Ireland. Here we have a very funny, even zany, comedy. His characters use obscenities like punctuation marks – possibly around two hundred ‘F’ words! Thanks to Doyle’s superb dialogue they seem to get away with it. Originally, Doyle was unable to find a publisher for his first work, so in 1987 he founded King Farouk Press, and printed three thousand copies of ‘ The Commitments’, and attracted a large anti-establishment faction.
The direction (Ivan Motherway, assisted by Ginger Milne) was very good, inventive and captured the mood of the script. The pace was a little slow, but the enthusiasm of the strong cast and the style of delivery was wonderful. The director had the characters that were in the street, positioned in front of the stage shouting up (to the audience) at the youngsters. On the stage, the kidnappers replied through the upstairs bedroom window. This idea was most successful.
The set was typical of a working class bedroom, with tasteless, poorly hung wallpaper. The costumes were very authentic of the period. The sound effects were exceptional (Sean Haining and / or Pat Dunne). The lights however either have a few faulty faders or an anxious operator.
May I suggest that a bell is sounded for the end of the interval? Because flashing the auditorium lights for 4 or 5 minutes is annoying. Just before the play, having someone stand in front of the stage and explain where the toilets are situated and about the style of scene breaks (these should be in the programme, that is what a programme is for) is little unprofessional and unnecessary. Certainly ask for ‘phones to be switched off.
Very funny, very obscene but a most enjoyable, quality production. You might be lucky enough to get a cancellation on this fully booked play.