Youghal Theatre Company
Presents
The Playboy of the Western World
By
J.M. Synge

Venue: Walter Raleigh Hotel, Youghal, Tuesday 2nd to Saturday 6th November 2010. Tickets  – €20  OAP’s & Students – €15. Bookings and information  – 024 92011. Show start 8pm.

The play is set in M.J. Flaherty’s public house in Co. Mayo during the early 1900’s. It tells the story of Christy Mahon, a young man running away from his farm in Munster, claiming and boasting to have killed his father. He wins the hearts of the local women and especially captures the romantic attention of the bar-maid Pegeen Mike, the daughter of Flaherty.  His prowess at the local race/sports meeting confirms him to be a real hero with real expectations of marriage to Pegeen Mike.  When old Mahon appears alive and well, they turn upon their hero despite Christy’s offer to ‘slay his da’ a second time. Escaping from the villager’s clutches, he tames his father, and the two leave the public house disdainful of the gullible Mayo peasants.

Youghal Theatre Company
Presents
The Playboy of the Western World
By
J.M. Synge

Venue: Walter Raleigh Hotel, Youghal, Tuesday 2nd to Saturday 6th November 2010. Tickets  – €20  OAP’s & Students – €15. Bookings and information  – 024 92011

The play is set in M.J. Flaherty’s public house in Co. Mayo during the early 1900’s. It tells the story of Christy Mahon, a young man running away from his farm in Munster, claiming and boasting to have killed his father. He wins the hearts of the local women and especially captures the romantic attention of the bar-maid Pegeen Mike, the daughter of Flaherty.  His prowess at the local race/sports meeting confirms him to be a real hero with real expectations of marriage to Pegeen Mike.  When old Mahon appears alive and well, they turn upon their hero despite Christy’s offer to ‘slay his da’ a second time. Escaping from the villager’s clutches, he tames his father, and the two leave the public house disdainful of the gullible Mayo peasants.

The “Playboy Riots”

The “Playboy Riots”  occurred in January 1907 during and following the opening performance of the play.

The fact that the play was based on a story of apparent patricide also attracted a hostile public reaction.  Egged on by nationalist’s, including Sinn Fein leader Arthur Griffith, who believed that the theatre was not sufficiently political and described the play as “a vile and inhuman story told in the foulest of language we have ever listened to from public platform”, and with the pretext of a perceived slight on the virtue of Irish womanhood in the line “adrift of females standing in their shifts”, a significant portion of the crowd rioted , causing the remainder of the play to be acted out in dumb show. Nevertheless, press opinion soon turned against the rioters and the protests petered out.

Venue

Walter Raleigh Hotel,

Youghal

Tuesday 2nd to Saturday 6th November 2010

Tickets  – €20  OAP’s & Students – €15

Bookings and information  – 024 92011

The Cast

Christy Mahon –  Brian Hogan

Old Mahon –  Will O Brien

Michael James –  Ted O Brien

Pegeen Mike –  Ruth Hayes

Widow Quinn –  Denise O Brien

Shawn Keogh –  Martin Hennessy

Philly Cullen – Donie Fitzgerald

Jimmy Farrell –  Michael Beecher

Sara Tansey –  Fiona Coughlan

Susan Brady –  Niamh Mc Carthy

Honor Blake –  Eimear Coleman

Sean O Neill –  Director

Lora Murphy –  Set Design

Warren Tivy –  Sound

Tony Irwin –  Lighting

Marj Mc Donald –  costumes

Michael Lee –  Stage manager

Jane Crowley –  Harpist

Patrick Mc Carthy  – Piper

In one of the most challenging works of theatre ever performed in Youghal, a one-man play premiering in the Mall Arts centre this week depicts the human side of Christ in his final years. By Christy Parker | Photo: Michael Hussey www.youghalonline.com | Barry Lawlor http://www.lawlorimaging.com/

The Passion sees local actor Brian Hogan adopt the roles of several characters as he leads the audience through the three years preceding and including the scourging at the cross. Brian’s challenge is to convey the emotions, conflicts and frailties of human beings caught up in what would transpire to be the most profound drama in history of mankind.

The 90-minute performance, across two acts, “has religious undertones but looks at the Easter story in a non-religious manner,” says playwright Sean O’Neill. “It focuses on the humanity of Christ and other central characters such as Pontius Pilate, Mary Magdalene and the Roman soldier who pierced Christ’s side with his sword.”

The writer -a Dubliner now living in Youghal- trawled across ancient manuscripts that included the Dead Sea Scrolls, in a research project spanning almost a decade. “I wanted to get as full a picture of Christ’s times and circumstances, as against the rather romanticised version of his life promoted by Church institutions,” he says of his work.

As far as the play is concerned, it’s irrelevant whether or not Jesus was the Saviour, because at the time he was considered just one of hundreds of self-acclaimed prophets.  “Nonetheless, he had acquired a large following while claiming to be the Son of God. This worried the high priests, known as the Sanhedrin, who enforced the law,” explains Sean. “So they killed him without a fair trial.”

Jesus’s Background

The playwright stresses the importance of the political and social structures of the time in defining Jesus. Sean subscribes that “there were four main religious sects in Israel; the Pharisees (generally artists and workers who believed in the afterlife and retribution in next world), the Essenes (ascetics who embraced self-sacrifice), Sadducees (elite class who also believed in afterlife, angels, etc but who made fortunes selling ‘indulgences’ in the temple) and the Zealots (off-stream revolutionaries, opposed to Roman rule). Various argument depict Jesus as being a member either of the Pharisees or the Essenes.

In Sean’s understanding, Jesus would have followed the teachings of his cousin, John the Baptist, an Essene who advocated redemption from sin through baptism. “Jesus spent time fasting in the dessert where, unsurprisingly, he suffered hallucinations,” Sean proceeds. “On his return John was beheaded and Jesus assumed his message. He also claimed he had to die to save mankind but he wouldn’t have been the first prophet to claim this.”

Profits as much as prophets were to be Jesus’s undoing. He routed the indulgence-selling, money-collectors in the temple for, basically, racketeering at a time when 50% of children died through poverty before reaching five. This enhanced his growing support and further undermining the power of the Sanhedrin and other elitists and sealed his faith. “Against this background, we see the non-divine, humanity of Jesus emerge,” observes Sean.

Judas, Pilate etc…

The play’s opening half deals with the three years of Jesus’s ministry. Part two addresses the scourging. Brian endeavours to bring a depth and a new perspective to each of seven characters. Pontius Pilate is re-assessed. “Its unlikely he ever actually met Jesus personally, as he would oversee hundreds of crucifixions in a week,” Sean reflects. Judas, likewise, is revisited. “He was a very learned man, who spoke several languages. I think he sought to intervene on Jesus’s behalf and in time the perception came about that he betrayed him,” Sean alaborates.

Other characters depicted are John the Baptist, Peter the Apostle and the Roman Centurion. Mary Magdalene (played in a short cameo by Terri McCarthy) is also represented amidst insinuation that she has conducted an emotional and physical relationship with Jesus. “He was a rabbi by then and rabbis were incomplete without a partner,” explains Sean.

Challenging

The play presents an unprecedented challenge to (pardon the ironic pun) the life of Brian Hogan, recently returned from his appearance as Vince Matthews in Fair City and more accustomed to plying his talents on a shared stage with Youghal’s Little Theatre and the Brideview Players. I In his first solo role, the actor is imposed upon to hold the audience as he invokes a gamut of emotions, from grief to anger, through guilt, joy, despair and much, much more. He cites “the self pity of Judas and the arrogance of the centurion” as characteristics he has not previously personified, while the reminder, “are familiar but demand more intensity.”

Relishing the challenge, Brian says he has “really, really strived to get into the heads of these characters.” To that effect, Sean encouraged him to let the characters “evolve through trial and error on the rehearsal floor.” As Brian observes, “Every person has many sides to their character and so it’s really about combining the script with personal experience.”  The end result, hopefully, will see audiences emerge with a renewed and deeper understanding of Christ and perhaps one closer to one’s own self-perception.

All local

Brian is abetted in his efforts by local contributions from sound engineer Warren Tivy, lighting technician Tony Irwin and set designer Jesse DeLacour. Local reflection perhaps further extends to the playwright himself, who believes he may be related to the 1798 martyr Fr. Peter O’Neill.  “It was often mentioned in my family when I was growing up that we were related to him, though I’ve no way of proving it just yet,” he explains.

Sean first came to Youghal 20 years ago, through his ex-wife, a Cork woman whom he met through theatre in London. Over the past decade he has twice lived here prior to this permanent reinstatement since 2007. “I have long considered Youghal my spiritual home and now it’s my physical home also,” he smiles.

A seasoned traveller, his life has centred on theatre as writer, actor, director and producer in Ireland, Britain and America. His work has played to audiences in San Francisco as well London and the Triskle in Cork, where, amongst other projects, he directed Frank O’Connor’s An Only Child. A former member of the Cork Shakespeare Company, he now teaches drama at the National Learning Institute in Model farm Road. In his spare time he is simultaneously working on two novels.

Sean says he turned down requests to open The Passion in London, Dublin and Cork. “I thought, ‘why not Youghal? There is enough talent here that’s for sure.” Now there is The Passion to match it.

The Passion runs from Tuesday March 30st to Saturday April 3rd. Admission €20; (opening night €15); concession/OAP/students €15.  Advance tickets at Cree’s card shop. Doors open 7.30. Complimentary wine, teas and coffee.

Click on image to enlarge

Brian Hogan is the son of Noel and Assumpta Hogan, Youghal, and even though he was interested in acting when he finished school, he worked in various jobs and positions until when, in his late 20’s, he played a small part in Youghal in the John B Keane play, Many Young Men of Twenty. And that was that! Report: Denise Fitzgerald. Photo: Michael Hussey (YoughalOnline.com)

He studied various courses with the Gaiety School of Acting and studied film technique which, ultimately, led him to a role in Fair City. Making a career out of acting, Brian has since performed in shows such as Dancing at Lughnasa, The Glass Menagerie and Guys ‘n’ Dolls.

As fate would have it, Brian recently met Sean O’Neill, Playwright and Director, who also has firm roots in Youghal. Sean had written a play entitled The Passion, the World Premier of which is to be performed at the Mall Arts Centre, Youghal, from March 30th through until April 3rd.

Brian told the East Cork Journal that Sean asked him how he would feel about playing seven different characters in ‘The Passion’. “At first I found it exciting and extremely challenging to pull this off and make it work,” Brian said. “As a result of further discussions with Sean I was reassured that, with the correct approach and dedication, this would work.

Sean gave me the script, which I read, and it was then I realized I had a formidable challenge ahead of me. This was the first time I had come across a script that made me question my decision to become an actor. However, having expressed my concerns to Sean he instructed me to allow the characters to naturally evolve and to stop rushing towards the characters and allow the characters to come to me”.

Brian has obviously taken Sean’s good advice to heart and, after weeks of intensive rehearsals, he is very confident that this play will be something never seen before in Youghal. Having such a professional and competent, all-local team involved in the production is a great support and encouragement to Brian, who is now looking forward with great ‘passion’ to performing in his home town again.

Doors open at 7.30pm with complimentary wines, teas and coffees for the opening night. Tickets available at Cree’s Card Shop.

Sean O’Neill is a well known and highly respected Playwright and Director. He lives in Youghal, where he is happy, comfortable, and back in the town he has loved all his life.
By Denise FitzGerald  Photo: Michael Hussey Youghalonline.com email: news@youghalonline.com

Born in Dublin, the son of a Kilkenny man, Sean remembers being told by his father and uncles many times during his lifetime, that he was related to Fr. Peter O’Neill – the Irish Catholic Priest born in Coona, County Cork in 1757, brother of the famous Fenian Michael O’Neill Crowley.  During those troubled times,  Fr. O’Neill was accused of sanctioning the murder of a United Irishman suspected  of being a Government Spy.  Fr. O’Neill refused to give information, was arrested, received 275 lashes without trial, held in prison for two years, and then transported in 1800 to Australia.   He was released on January 15th 1803 and sailed to Ireland where he was reinstated as Parish Priest of Ballymacoda on July 29th, 1803 and where he remained until his death on June 30th, 1846.   All Youghal natives will be familiar with the memorial erected to his memory in Green Park.

Sean O’Neill may, or may not be related to this much revered son of Youghal but his love of the town and surrounding areas is the reason why he has decided that the World Premier of his new One Man Show, entitled ‘The Passion,’ will be staged in the Mall Arts Centre in Youghal with the opening night on Tuesday March 30th, running through to Saturday, April 3rd. Sean said he had options of premiering in theatres in different cities, including Dublin and Cork, but decided to bring his Show first to the town of Youghal.

Despite studying drama in London in his teens, and working in films following this, Sean’s real love is writing and directing.  Some of the diverse shows with which he was involved include Playboy of the Western World (Director), West Side Story (Director) and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, to name but a few.

The title ‘The Passion’ indicates immediately the theme of this One Man Show, but Sean assures that this is a ’Passion’ with a difference.   For several years he tossed the concept around in his mind, and gave great thought to the life of Christ as we have been taught.  This Show, he says, ‘is about an ordinary man doing extraordinary things’.   It tells the story of Christ from the beginning of His ministry at age 30 when he was baptised by John the Baptist.    The story is based on the perspective of humanity, with all the feelings and emotions of man, and the circumstances that moulded the character of Christ.  Why did Christ do what He did?   Why did all of this happen?  What were His thoughts, feelings, ambitions?   How was He to deal with them?

The role of Christ is played by well known Youghal actor, Brian Hogan.   This is a very exciting and challenging role for Brian who, in this Show, will play the diverse parts of not only Christ, but also Peter, Judas, Joseph, and a Centurian.   Sean is delighted with his choice of actor, and says that Brian has all the talents, emotions and, most importantly, he has a ‘presence’ which will captivate any audience.

Sean confirmed that everything to do with this Show is being done on a local level.  All the stage props, carpentry, lighting etc., are in the hands of local Youghal people, and he is delighted to be able to bring employment to the area.

And so, we introduce Sean O’Neill, Playwright and Director, to the people of Youghal where the Fenian, Brian Crowley O’Neill and the Priest, Fr. Peter O’Neill  from Ballymacoda in the 1800s may be his ancestors.  Then again, they may not.

Make a firm date to go along at Easter time, from March 30th to April 3rd to the Mall Arts Centre, and get another perspective on the wonderful theme of Christ, the man, in the World Premier of Sean O‘Neill‘s, ‘The Passion’.