Pic: Brian Gavin/ Press 22
IN THE director’s chair for College Players, Dave Griffin foresees an LOL experience for audiences to their show, ‘One Man, Two Guvnors’.
At the media launch in Clarion Hotel Limerick last week, Dave’s vow to all was: “You will laugh hysterically at this play, it is so clever, how it was devised and written”.
He is thrilled with bagging the award-rich Aódan Fox as leading man, playing the hapless, hungry Francis. “We have found the best Francis Henshall outside of Broadway that you are going to see. This man has won eight or nine AIMS awards and been nominated for another eight or nine”.
No pressure then, Mssers Fox and Griffin.
Dave cut it as a first time director last year, pushing out fabulous work in the circular, robust ‘Noises Off’. This Michael Freyn was a miracle of execution at Lime Tree Theatre, pivoting on a revolving stage as cast scaled up and down stairs front and back of set, and poured through windows.
Same theatre again for Ray Bean’s rewrite of commedia del arte’s ‘The Servant of Two Masters’ for November 8 to 12, curtain at 8pm.
“Look, I’m doing this show in important company,” he tells Arts page, pressed about this latent ability as director. “I have a brilliant cast, a brilliant designer in Gerry Lombard, a brilliant crew and it’s a brilliant play. Really, I am project manager”.
“This is another wonderful play. I saw ‘One Man, Two Guvnors’ in London’s Adelphi in 2012 and yes, that was influential in College Players deciding to do it”.
“Blown away”, this Dell executive makes that point that this is a play “with a lot of history, put on for an 18th century audience in 1743 and set in Verona. It has been modernised by an English playwright, Ray Bean, and set in Brighton 1963. A lot of the action happens in Old Street, in a pub called The Cricketer’s Arms”.
Anticipate all the qualities of classic high farce. “It is typical – doors opening and closing, slapstick, panto, music, physical tricks, mistaken identities”.
On stage, there is the surprise of a gifted band who play and sing the musical score. Yet Dave states firmly that “this is a play, not a musical”.
Boris Hunka on keys, percussion and vocals; Eoghan Judge on guitar and vocals and Peter Hanagan on bass will combine as a class act. The actors to rival them are Liam O’Brien as a Guvnor with Miriam Ball as the other, femininity muffled by tie and braces; Jean McGlynn, Chris Rowley, Padhraic Hastings, Brian McNamara, Rachel Griffin and Dan Mooney.
For the first time, College Players welcome Lee Dillon, Paddy Kelly and Eoghan Ahern into their comedy capers.
Tickets only €10 on Wednesday November 9 for groups of 10+.
