Dry humoured Colgan alive ‘n’ kicking on Waterloo Road
The late Cyril Cusack used to say that if you asked him for his New Year’s resolution, it would be to “find out who I am”.
Michael Colgan not only cast Cyril’s three daughters Sinead (as Masha), Niamh (as Irina) and Sorcha (as Olga) in Chekhov’s Three Sisters at The Gate Theatre in 1990, but he was so close to Cyril, in fact, that his wake in October, 1993, was actually held at Colgan’s house in Dublin. Colgan, unlike Cyril, never seemed to have a problem with identity, especially at this navel-gazing time of year.
Last Wednesday, I bumped into a very slim and clear-eyed Colgan near his home on Waterloo Road. I remarked on his trimness, before going on to ask the moustachioed maestro if he was looking so well because he was soon to shake off the shackles of responsibility at The Gate. Colgan immediately put me right — as he often does — saying it was because of his annual ‘dry January’.
And by that he meant alcohol, not wit.
Only two more shows to go and Colgan says he is really excited about the penultimate offering — the musical Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris (which begins with previews on January 26 and opens on Wednesday, February 1). What a cast he said, referring to Risteard Cooper, Rory Nolan, the beautiful Stephanie McKeon and now his latest protege Karen McCartney has just joined this glorious collection of talents. Karen is currently playing The Heiress at The Gate to great success and as the trim impresario noted without recourse for once to his de rigueur dry wit, “with this role the heiress has inherited something very special”.
Colgan is alive and well and living in Dublin 4.