KildareNet News

KILCULLEN 31 January 2003: Kilcullen Drama Group's production of 'Juno and the Paycock' was nothing less than a tour de force. And signs on, as they had to put on an extra four performances this week, Thursday through Sunday, all of which were sold out in advance.

The production was by the group's maestro, Paddy Meila, whose demand for nothing but 110 per cent of performance and dedication from his cast and crew was delivered by them in spades.

'Juno' is not the easiest play to do, with its delicate balance of humour and tragedy and O'Casey's underlying sardonic attitude to the Ireland of the Civil War. But the Kilcullen players made it seem easy, no doubt an inverse reflection of the effort that they had invested in the production.

The story of the rise and fall of the O'Boyle family, set in a Dublin tenement that for just a short time they seemed to be on the verge of escaping from, is relatively simple. But the breadth of the characters who impinge on their lives in large or small measure is wider than any stage should be capable of supporting.

All were magnificent. If some are to be be specially mentioned, it is not that they were better than their colleagues, but that they had the central parts. Still, no player rested while those central parts were being acted, because no matter where the central action was taking place, those on other parts of the stage continued perfectly in part, so that if a watcher decided to distract from the main, there was a secondary play always to view.

Bernard Berney's 'Captain' Boyle (below left) was interpreted with his usual panache, and a part that might have been played heavy was an excellent balance in the chemist's capable hands.

Vivian Clarke's 'Joxer' (above right) was one of the two hardest parts of the production, in my view, and was acted with a skill and a consistency that only a Jack Nicholson could possibly have equalled.

The other really difficult part, largely because it was one of few words, and those always of anguish, was Emlyn Hegarty-Kelly's Johnn Boyle. O'Casey clearly had no time for such idealists, and we always knew he was going to end hard.

Marie Healy played Juno with her customary skill, well depicting the quintessential Dublin mother keeping a difficult family together.

And all the other 'usual suspects' - Ray Donohue, Eilis Phillips, Fergal Sloan, Joe O'Connor and several more - contributed to a night of entertainment that was as good as anything that could be found on the best professional theatres in Ireland and beyond.

Thank you all.