Shoestring Theatre Company from Charleville in Cork made their 15th appearance at the RTE All-Ireland Drama Festival on Friday night, and their production of Trad by Mark Doherty was a real crowd-pleaser.
Following a hundred year-old man and his father on their search for his long-lost son, the play does have serious points to make about Irish society and the influence of the church, but these weighty issues are packaged in a richly comic script. That both characters are missing a limb also adds immense potential for physical comedy and Shoestring really made the most of that, creating moments onstage that drew spontaneous rounds of applause from the audience.
In his post-show critique, adjudicator Walker Ewart emphasised the technical expertise that this play demands, calling for live music and special effects in addition to evocative lighting and sound. He thought that this production worked extremely well from a technical perspective, and picked out a number of his highlights. These included the use of lighting and harmonica to represent a passing train, noting that this particular device worked because it was so well rehearsed. He admired the simple but effective set, saying that it served the play well and provided great opportunities for physical comedy. He congratulated the lighting team of Brendan Normoyle and Matthew Lyons on their work, but reserved particular praise for the live musicians, who he felt “made” the play last night.
However, it’s the relationship between father and son that’s at the heart of this play, and the adjudicator felt that the pairing in this production worked terrifically well together. He commended both men on their vocal and physical acting, saying that Martin Hennessy captured the changing mood of storyteller Da, and he was ably supported by William Lyons as Son. However, it was Ger Liston’s performance in the cameo role of Fr. Rice that really captivated the adjudicator and the audience - Ewart described his scene as one of the high moments of the play.
The adjudicator pointed out that Kevin O’Shea’s “gifted and thoughtful” direction brought us so many delightful moments – of action and of silence - saying that he was a director very much on top of the script. However, he felt that more balance could have been found between the comedy and the pathos in the text, and there were times when he felt that the full meaning of the language was not conveyed in the action. He also questioned whether there was an effective enough balance between the comic and the comment on modern Ireland, but summed up his adjudication by saying that this production delivered on so many levels, and thanked Shoestring Theatre Company for a very enjoyable evening.
Tonight, Klimuckridge Drama Group from Wexford make their debut at the RTE All-Ireland Drama Festival with their production of The Kings of the Kilburn High Road.
Karina Buckley
