Munster Express Online » Theatre

The Sweet & Lowdown: Brian ‘Juckey’ Collins

Michelle Clancy — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:25:27 +0000

Brian ‘Juckey’ Collins’ name has become with synonymous with musical theatre in the city: from stage-managing some of the most memorable shows of recent years to having the audience in the stitches playing such comic roles as Lar in Paul Barry’s The Glass. Having first become involved with theatre in the 80s with Tops of the Town, he’s won awards for his work with Flaggy Lane Productions and now spends a considerable amount of his time working with the next generation of Waterford’s theatre practitioners. But his greatest theatrical moment to date is actually one of his earliest.

“One particular highlight for me over the years was to perform on stage with my late father Archie in the Waterford Crystal Tops show, which reached the televised final in 1986 and 1987.

Royal’s Spring shows

The Munster Express — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:24:02 +0000

Royal’s Spring shows

The Theatre Royal is proving to be the centre of dramatic excellence under director Ben Barnes with a run of outstanding quality productions. Just announced is the theatre’s new spring production which will see Shelagh Stephenson’s Olivier award-winning hilarious black comedy The Memory of Water, brought to Waterford for the first time from 8th to 17th March.

Three sisters come together in a highly charged atmosphere on the eve of their mother’s funeral. With snow falling outside they laugh and cry, rage and bicker as the conflicts of the past and their hold on the present are mercilessly exposed.

Review: La Traviata

The Munster Express — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 09:35:40 +0000

The Tchaikovsky Perm State Opera brought La Traviata (Fallen Women) to the Grand Canal Theatre with full chorus and the RTE National Symphony Orchestra to add a traditional touch of the glums and the glams to Verdi’s melodic masterpiece of pleasure and the sin of pleasure and the pain of love, separation and tragic death in a high key.

Review: Events While Guarding The Bofors Gun

Liam Murphy — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 09:35:16 +0000

Stagemad Theatre Company set up in 2005 and in the past six years have added much by way of new work, a strong admirable support for a new cohort of actors, mostly on a shoestring of financial support. Its artistic director James Power is dogged in his dedication to theatre and he followed new work at the fine Imagine Festival with a strong choice of play to keep the faith with a new breed of actor. Events While Guarding The Bofors Gun, a seventies play looking back to a post war situation in Germany in 1954, has an all male cast of ten actors and this John McGrath play was made famous by the powerful manic performance of Nicol Williamson in the film of the same name.

The Sweet & Lowdown: Joanna Ryde

Michelle Clancy — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 09:34:32 +0000

Joanna Ryde’s first book Diary of a Ryde was launched earlier this month. The all-singing, all dancing Finglas lass, who hosts the legendary cabaret shows at Waterford’s Dignity Bar, began her rise to superstardom in 2007 when she won the prestigious Alternative
Miss Ireland. Appearances on TV and radio followed, most notably in 2010 when she was

chosen as a finalist on RTE’s The All Ireland Talent Show prompting Daithi O’Se to suggest she had the nicest legs he’d ever seen. Though a Northside girl to the bone Joanna (aka fellow Finglas native Kolyn Byrne) has found a spiritual home in Waterford.

Scrooge becomes a Theatre Director

The Munster Express — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 09:32:59 +0000

This year, Waterford Youth Arts have decided to stage a new version of Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” titled “A Gleekmas Carol”. This new version is a modernised version with a whole range of unusual characters. It tells the story of a grumpy and miserable youth theatre director who refuses to ever put on a musical. Until he is visited by his old pal, the deceased Jemmy who once shared the job of running the youth theatre. After this visit, we delve into the past, present and future of the old director.

Review: The Shaughraun

Liam Murphy — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:41:39 +0000

Once again, it was the amateur, the community theatre company who are providing the drama of big cast plays, big broad brush spectacle and good value for money. Dungarvan Dramatic Club in the shadow of bereavement and in a time honoured tradition showed that the show goes on and their closeness of cast and crew carried them despite very heavy hearts.

Taking on a biggie, Dion Boucicault’s The Shaughraun, with a cast of twenty-four, lots of diverse settings and locations is no easy task and they were equal to the difficulties.

Review: Come Back To The 5 And Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean

Liam Murphy — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 11:43:26 +0000

Waterford Dramatic Society presented a curious choice of play, a bitter-sweet comedy from 70’s America, looking back from a small town where in the 50’s a group of hopeful dreamers The Disciples of James Dean met in a Woolworth’s 5 and Dime story to celebrate and idolise their hero.

Written by Ed Graczyk and first produced in 1976 to little or no reviews but in 1980 Robert Altman gave it a New York run, with even more mixed reviews prior to his movie version in 1982. Altman had Sandy Dennis, Cher and Kathy Bates and Karen Black in the movie.

Review: Love and Fury

Liam Murphy — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 11:42:48 +0000

Subtitled The Passion of Jonathan Swift, Catastrophe Theatre Company brought that fine character actor David Heap to the Theatre Royal in Love and Fury. Sadly, there was little passion and no fury except for the wind outside the theatre.

Heap gave ten years of his career in Fair city playing Donal Maher and he was in the original production of Jim Nolan’s The Salvage Shop.

Review: Trading Faces

Liam Murphy — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 11:42:12 +0000

Good Tuck, It’s Twink should have been the title of Robert C Kelley’s foray into ladies night out theatre. There was no programme, perhaps people are not buying them anymore but there was not even a printed off sheet of information or a press release to hand. But the proper (far from proper) title was Trading Faces – Who Gives A Tuck and it was a fine vehicle for Adele King to Twink and Tuck bit.