Entertaining slapstick in end-of-year production

Three Short Comedies by Seán O’Casey – Druid Theatre

Review by Judy Murphy

Three of Seán O’Casey’s lesser-known plays, all short comedies, are the end-of-year offering from Druid Theatre and after being staged in Galway’s Mick Lally Theatre, they’re now on a short national tour.

The more serious of the three, 1951’s Bedtime Story is bookended by A Pound on Demand (1939) and The End of the Beginning (1937), both of which fall firmly into the slapstick camp.

Slapstick isn’t easy to pull off and these one-acts aren’t anywhere close to O’Casey’s finest work, but they offer a great opportunity for the cast – which includes three members of the Druid Ensemble –  to showcase their comic skills. And they don’t disappoint.

Aaron Monaghan, Marty Rea and Rory Nolan are three of an ensemble of actors who feature regularly in Druid productions and they’re out in strength here, directed by the company’s director, Garry Hynes. Rory Nolan appears in all three plays and Aaron Monaghan and Marty Rea in two of them. The other cast members are Sarah Morris, Liam Heslin and Venetia Bowe, who have previously worked with Druid. They all deliver excellent performances, even when playing characters that are little more than caricatures, which is particularly true for the first and final offerings.

A Pound on Demand centres on two drunkards, Sammy and Jerry, with Jerry being the less inebriated of the two. He decides Sammy should liberate some of his post office savings so they can continue their revelry. Sammy, however, can barely stand, which is problematic when a signature is required. Add in a suspicious post-mistress and a nosey customer and their quest is doomed to disaster – especially when a policeman is summoned.

Laugh-out-loud moments are delivered from Aaron Monaghan – one of this country’s finest actors when it comes to physical comedy. He’s capable of being darker too, as he demonstrates in Bedtime Story where he plays an ostensibly Godfearing Catholic who leaves himself open to being bribed by a young woman, Angela. This play addresses serious issues around women’s rights – very brave in 1951 – but ultimately opts for comedy, not entirely successfully.

The final offering, The End of the Beginning, is daft. It involves a feckless husband and his hardworking wife swapping roles as he takes on housework and she goes farming. Thanks to great performances from Rory Nolan and Mary Rea and clever technical tricks, it works – it shouldn’t.

Druid excels in the creative and technical aspects of productions and the staging and costumes are terrific, as are the lighting and sound.

These short plays aren’t ground-breaking or challenging but they make for lively, entertaining evening – something to be welcomed in tough times.