Acting the goat – but no kidding around for pilot TV show shoot

Date Published: 23-Jan-2012

BY CIARAN TIERNEY

Motorists were treated to the strange sight of a frenzied man chasing a goat through Dominick Street and Henry Street during the filming of the pilot episode for what may become the first televised sitcom based in Galway.

Almost 50 people gave their services free of charge last week for the filming of the pilot episode of ‘Who Needs Enemies’, written by Barna native Conor Montague, in the hope that it will become a full series on British television.

Commissioning editors from a number of UK television channels expressed an interest in screening a version of Montague’s stage show of the same name after seeing it at the Town Hall Theatre last October, but with no funding forthcoming Montague and his friends decided to go ahead and make a pilot episode themselves.

“Too many people seem to be waiting around for funding, so we just decided to go out and do the thing,” said Mr Montague yesterday. “We were fortunate enough to secure the services of many talented people who were willing to waive their fees until ‘Who Needs Enemies’ secures a commission.

“Forty six people worked on it over eight days and we believe it will be the first sitcom pilot completely funded by the local community.”

The enthusiastic crew, many of them aged under 30, took to the city’s streets to film a variety of scenes which included assaults in broad daylight, an out-of-control goat carrying cocaine for a drug-dealer, drunken scenes on Shop Street, and blood-soaked men sneaking down back alleys in pouring rain.

Various versions of the play have proven popular with theatre-goers in Galway over the past two years and Mr Montague hopes to make a full 12-part comedy series, following the misadventures of a group of shady characters as they evade the attentions of a Garda drugs squad officer.

All going well, ‘Who Needs Enemies’ could become Galway’s version of ‘Shameless’. If not, it seems that the people involved had great fun making it as they explored the “seedy underbelly” of Galway.

Read more in today’s Connacht Sentinel