John B comic classic back on home stage
ONLY a master like John B could have mined the doleful subject of emigration for laughs while still tackling the theme with all the seriousness it demands.
Nearly 60 years after he penned the comic classic Many Young Men of Twenty, the play is still in hot demand by drama groups the length and breadth of the country, still relevant, still holding a mirror up to our foibles while making us laugh our socks off at ourselves.
First performed by Cork’s Southern Theatre Company, Many Young Men makes its latest appearance back on the Listowel home stage, as a St John’s cast of veterans and newcomers under the direction of Joe Murphy give life once more to the solid gold script.
“Ship ‘em off and be rid of them!’ is one of the great lines of the play, really showing John B’s brilliant social commentary in examining the attitudes towards emigration that would have existed among some of the pillars of society,” Joe said.
“John B is sometimes dismissed as just a great entertainer but the amount and quality of social commentary in his plays is second to none and Many Young Men is a great case in point.
“There’s a great range of characters, from the pillars of society right down to the poorest with some really colourful characters among them, and a great range in terms of all the subjects it tackles, politically, economically and socially.”
“You’ve characters like Danger Mullaly saying very cutting things about those in power, and schoolteacher Maurice Browne who provides a lot of commentary on the nature of Irish society of the time,” Joe explained. Meanwhile, the hugely-talented cast behind the latest iteration of the hit play are having a whale of a time bringing it all together in rehearsals ahead of the St John’s run from Friday, April 20 until Tuesday, April 24, (doors open 8pm each night).