Darren Moynihan, Eileen O’Leary and Karen Power, pictured at rehearsals for Dawn Players’ production of ‘Canaries’ by Bernard Farrell.
Kilmeaden ‘Canaries’ by Bernard Farrell, Ballyduff NS, February 10th-13th – “All the best performers bring to their role something more, something different than what the author put on paper. That’s what makes theatre live. That’s why it persists.”
Stephen Sondheim had a point. Be it a role which demands an actor to learn reams of text, or be it simply getting the timing of an entrance right, live theatre carries an exuberance and vitality that no two performances can replicate.
The unknown factors that sometimes come to bear on a production tend to produce one or two reactions from an actor: one that looks natural or one that carries a hint of panic about it. Anyone that’s been on the stage, be it panto, play or concert will testify to that!
And when you see the natural reaction occurring, one can only tip a hat towards the actor in question as well as to the director who assuredly commandeered the ship during the occasionally rough waters of rehearsal.
Denise Quinn, well-known in city theatre circles through her work with Waterford Dramatic Society, makes her directorial bow with Kilmeaden’s Dawn Players this week.
This year’s production, Bernard Farrell’s ‘Canaries’, runs at Ballyduff National School from tonight (Wednesday) until Saturday next, February 13th, with an 8pm ‘curtain up’.
Over the past few months, Denise has brought her stage experience to bear on the 12-strong cast, virtually all well-known to audiences who have attended the local group’s productions over the past 15 years.
And, having spoken to a couple of cast members during impromptu meetings since Christmas, it’s clear that an enormous level of hard work and preparation has been put into this comedy.
Plot wise, ‘Canaries’ is set on a bar in the Canary Islands and follows the stories of three Dublin couples and one German couple who encounter each other while on holiday.
Thanks to the presence of a handsome barman who mixes it up with the ladies, rising temperatures are not solely attributed to the blazing sun overhead!
The presence of a scheming gambler is an added ingredient to a potent cocktail and before too long, all to rib tickling effect, the secrets of our holidaymakers are revealed!
With the Ballyduff Parish Newsletter advising all punters to bring their medication “in case you laugh too much!”, it looks like another four nights of hilarity shall ensue out Kilmeaden way.
Best of luck to the cast, director and backstage team that have worked so hard in recent months to deliver further theatrical high-jinks for the local audience to savour this week.
The cast list reads: Mark Phelan, Joan Stephenson, Brid Cotter, Declan Finn, Paddy Henebry, Mick Kelly, Eileen O’Leary, Miriam Daly, Darren Moynihan, Karen Power, Jim Laffan and John Meskill.
Tickets (€12) for ‘Canaries’ are selling fast, with ‘sold out’ signs already being reported, so to book your seat, please call 087-2378484 or 051-384272 after 6pm.
