No turkeys in this Oval Office
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AT a time when real life seems stranger than fiction, at least as far as American politics are concerned, Dundalk Theatre Workshop are staging ‘November’, David Mamet’s classic satire about the American presidency,
Opening in An Táin Arts Centre tomorrow ( Wednesday) night, this is the third play which the award winning group have presented to mark their 40th anniversary.
‘It’s a play I’ve wanted to do for some time,’ says Bernard Dunne who is making his An Táin directorial debut.
‘November is about the re-election of the American President and given the shennagians which surrounded the election of Trump, we thought it would be a topical play to stage.’
Although written in 2008, many of the lines sound bang up to date:
Lawyer to President: ‘ We can’t build a fence to keep out the illegal immigrants’. President: ‘ Why not?’ Lawyer: ‘You need the illegal immigrants to build the fence.’
And if some of Mamet’s trademark obscenities as uttered by American’s first citizen shocked audiences five years, they will probably sound very believable today.
Bernard says:‘I’ve got a very experienced cast headed by Gerry O’Hara who plays the beleaguered American President, Charles Smith, and who is on stage for the entire duration of the play.’
Chuck, as he’s known, is battling for re-election although his are getting slimmer by the minute, while the threat of nuclear war grows.
Thanksgiving is approaching and he must make preparation for the traditional pardoning of one lucky turkey, which brings him into contact with The Turkey Guy, played by Kieran Lawless. Turkey Guy represents the Association of Turkey Growers and sees the opportunity to lobby the President.
There are, however, other interests out there, including Native American Dwight Grackle played by Matt Murphy, who offers to give the President a way out but with a price. Paul McGee plays the Attorney General Archer Brown, while Jane Mehigan appears as Clarise Bernstein, the scriptwriter who must come up with the words to woo the electorate.
If none of it sounds any crazier than what’s going on in the White House at the moment or the antics of Frank Underwood in The House of Cards, rest assured that this is satire at its best from master playwright David Mamet, best known for ‘Glengary Glenross’.
One of the biggest challenges facing Dundalk Theatre Workshop in staging ‘November’ is recreating the Oval Office on the stage of An Táin Arts Centre.
‘Everyone knows what the Oval Office looks like, going back to Jack Kennedy and earlier, so we knew we had to get it right!’ says Bernard. Add to that the popularity of programmes such as The West Wing and House of Cards and most people are probably as familiar with the Oval Office as their own sitting room.
The company’s expert production crew, headed by the award winning Tony Rice have pulled out all the stops to recreate that famous office, building an elliptical shaped set on the stage.
Bernard voices his apprecia- tion to a number of local shops and businesses who have supported the group by supplying them with good really good quality furniture, including Kearney and McArcle for the desk and chairs, Euro Antiques for the grandfather’s clock and The Good Buy for a sofa and chairs. ‘Our set painter Maria Kovacikova has replicated the Presidential Seal so that it looks like there’s a carpet on the stage.’
He also thanks Andrew McGeough for providing them with a rehearsal space above McGeough’s pub in Roden Place.
‘November’ opens in An Táin Arts Centre tomorrow ( Wednesday) night and runs until Saturday. Tickets €12 opening night, €15, €12 concessions, for the rest of the run, are available from the Box Office, Crowe Street, phone 9332332 or online at www.antain.ie.