Three nights of powerful and emotive theatre

GIVING a platform to original writing, local acting, talented musicians and more, ‘Staged’ in Glash Community Centre in North Cork was a raging success over the weekend.

The three nights, running from Thursday until Saturday, featured three original plays by Mike Guerin and Mary Angland, all varying in tone, genre and appeal.

While it is not in the centre of a town or village, Glash Community Centre sets the perfect backdrop for a night of local theatre and entertainment. It is big enough to accommodate a good crowd, yet intimate enough to make you feel as if you are part of the production.

Introducing the event, organiser, playwright, actor and drama teacher Mike Guerin explained that ‘Staged’ provides a forum for local writers and actors, while also giving young people the chance to perform an original play without the pressure of competition and in a venue where they live, work, study and create art.

The night started off with ‘ A Night in September’ by Mary Angland which proved powerful, emotive and haunting.

The play, set in 1995, was narrated by the elderly Josephine Sheridan (Noelene Quinn). It was played out by the young Josephine (Abby Reynolds), her mother Emily (Michelle Enright), father Charles (Martin O’Riordan), maid (Martha Keller), Black and Tan officer (Mike Guerin), IRA volunteer (Seán Bowman) and supporting IRA volunteers (Mossie Angland, Brian Barry, Aidan Carroll, Justin Bowman, Liam Bowman and Diarmuid Lehane).

Sitting in her armchair in a nursing home, Josephine looks back on her youth and the tumultuous and politically charged time in Ireland during the War of Independence.

Taking an interesting stance on the story of the Irish Republic and how it came into being, the audience gets a stark and at times shocking view of the reality of living in Ireland.

The events all act as a catalyst, building up to the events of the night of September 15, 1920, in which the characters’ lives are changed forever.

Powerfully told, the play gives an insight into the lives of the landed gentry, where their sympathies lay and how they paid dearly for doing what they thought was the right thing in a time of national political unrest.

This was half an hour of stellar acting, flawless writing, wellthought out stage settings and a powerful political message.

The second play lightened the tone and was played out by the Newtivity Youth Drama group for ‘Sisterhood of the Lost Bars’ by Mike Guerin.

Telling the story of a catastrophe in the not-so-distant future, the audience was introduced to an apocalyptic scene where teenagers are wandering aimlessly in the outside world, with no adults or internet to guide them, as to where resources or safety can be found.

A humorous take on how big an influence the internet plays in the lives of everyday teenagers, this play looks at what might happen, if God forbid, the Wifi signal dropped.

Featuring the voices and acting of young up and coming actors, this play is a sad reflection on our over reliance on technology, but it is also amusing, well contextualised and cleverly staged.

It featured Ciara O’Regan, Rachel Collins, Charlene Drumm, Justin Bowman, Jayne Harrington, Abby Reynolds, Nancy Lehane and Laura O’Connor - who are all sure to be seen on the stage again in the future.

The musical interlude featured the haunting voice and talented guitar playing of the young Maedhbh Walsh from Newmarket. She was followed by Stephen Delee from Broadford, who has been a master of the mouth organ for many years and Mike Guerin then inspired many toe tapping enthusiasts to get their feet going.

The night concluded with ‘Sides’ by Mike Guerin featuring Michelle Enright, Mike Guerin, Marie Hourigan and Susannah Guerin.

Set in a hospital room after a married couple’s only child has been admitted to hospital, this gives an intriguing and amusing insight into the minds of a husband and wife and how what they say doesn’t always reflect how they feel.

A masterfully written play it framed the situation with humour, wit and just enough stark reality so that many of the audience members laughed along as they saw themselves in the characters on stage.

Performing to a full house every night, ‘Staged’ was, like it’s first outing, a roaring success.