Liam Meagher, the writer/director, is a busy man this season, with a touring play visiting schools with Little Red Kettle and a fine production for families on the stage at The Theatre Royal. Sleepy Suggy is a journey of adventure for a little boy, Suggy, of some Scottish origin, who would prefer to stay in bed rather than run errands for his father and mother. But no rest for him so he is sent off to get fish for breakfast and quickly meets a list of eccentric characters including a lighthouse whose light has gone out.
The attraction and edge of this production is that Suggy, and four of his friends, are played by children from the audience without any pre-planting or pre-rehearsal. Four professional actors play a list of characters and prompt the others with lines and actions. The magic is that this works a treat and is a special treat for the audience also. Lynda Gough was magical as Duck, among other persons. Ray Collins was great fun as Lighthouse. Nicola Daly was excellent as a host of people and James Whelan caught the mood and pace expertly and his kilted Fisherman Fran was surreal.
The costumes, props and settings were good but there was no programme available and I did ask several times.
I loved the interaction and once again my admiration for Liam Meagher’s work in theatre-in-education grows apace. We are lucky to have such a creative talent here in Waterford. Great to see his work in the Royal.
