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Bart players brought their production of Lenox Robinson’s ‘The Whiteheaded Boy’ to Newry for the second night, 25/3/25 of Newry Drama Festival.
First performed in the Abbey Theatre in 1916 where it enjoyed great success, the playwright Sean O’Casey was moved to comment “It’s a glorious work - I envy you every word of the Whiteheaded Boy.”
Adjudicator Geoff O’Keeffe, in his opening remarks, said that the challenge of the company was to create a play of comedy- seriously.
Moving to the presentation of the play Mr O’Keefe said that the set felt “contemporary and fresh - not a traditional box setting and it allowed interesting areas for the cast to work in.” He further remarked that while the set was beautiful, the furniture was all in one line which cut the actors’ space in half and that the director should reconsider the positioning of the furniture. Lighting was very well executed and created texture and atmosphere. However O’Keefe felt that the narrator was in very bright light which distracted from the other characters at times.
Sound was well pitched and costumes were appropriately chosen. “ There was much to admire about the presentation of the production.“
The director worked with the actors to establish a strong sense of their characters. One of the most successful scenes Mr O’Keeffe observed was the flirtatious proposal between Aunt Ellen and George Geoghegan. Both actors played very well with well punched comedy lines.
Commenting on the style of the production O’Keeffe felt that some actors were in different playing styles. Some were playing farce and some performance styles were naturalistic. He also felt that the first act was very “ even in pace” and that actors were “listening for cues rather than hearing lines for the first time.” He felt that the actors were not listening to each other.
Some of the performances highlighted included that of Mrs Geoghegan played by Vivian Shepherd who, established herself well as matriarch of the house and gave a “lightness of touch “ to her performance. George, played by Michael Poter, had good vocal delivery but could have expressed more exasperation at his brother.
Kate Geoghan, played by Lorraine Stevenson, played her role well and a highlight of that performance was her “ terrible singing.” Hannah, played by Pat Rennix, brought “super energy “ to the production and Vox, played by Roger Jennings, offered some good work in his delivery.
In his concluding remarks O’Keeffe reminded the company to watch the evenness of the pace and to ensure that everyone is playing in the same style. He congratulated Bart players for a good level of presentation and some lovely comic moments.
Tonight's play is Can You Ever Forgive Me from Rosemary Drama Group and curtain is up 7.30pm with tickets at the door or online at www.gr8events.ie
