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Kaz Novak, the Hamilton Spectator
Tanya Fraser, Charlene Gray, Claire Szatmari,
Andrew Dundass and Rachel Steele star
in Village Theatre Waterdown's Playboy of the
Western World by J. M. Synge. The 1907 play
explores the mystique behind the lighthearted
Irish spirit and reveals the anger and fear that
gurgles under the supposed Irish charm.
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Don't expect leprechauns.
With Playboy Of The Western World, J.M.
Synge takes an unsentimental look at the rambunctious nature of
the roistering Irish.
Not only has the incorrigible Synge
debunked the myth every Irishman is a latent poet, he has also
expunged those foolish notions that brilliant blarney is the hefty
cornerstone of every Irish romance.
If at the same time he has taken a
disturbing look at festering violence, gurgling beneath the
surface of benign calm, he has also displayed a healthy respect
for the Irish fascination with myth-making.
That fact, almost more than any other, is
what gives his 1907 play Playboy Of The Western World its
audacious heart-pounding spirit.
What Synge has given us in his passionate
play is the blacker heart of Irish blarney, something that
surfaced generations later in the compelling dramas of countryman
playwrights Martin McDonagh and Conor Macpherson.
Expect little of the poetic yearning
associated with Brian Friel.
For all his soaring literary spirit,
Synge is the natural father and dramatic conduit of darker Irish
voices; voices that populate Dublin's Abbey Theatre now.
Playboy may be a beguiling story about an
itinerant lad who flutters female hearts in a pub in County Mayo.
But this serious Irish comedy is more
overtly and dramatically tied to an exploration of the vicious
nature and predatory spirit of country folk.
The women flap like hungry chickens at
the sight of this salty cock of the walk. And the men, a mostly
pathetic lot, fear his unbridled spirit.
Causing riots when it opened in Dublin in
January 1907, Playboy enraged audiences with its lack of romance.
Its dark-hearted, unsympathetic view of women was particularly
considered offensive.
With an erotic frisson of sexual tension
between central characters Pegeen Mike and Christy Mahon, Playboy
owed much to Synge's own sweaty passion for actress Molly Allgood.
And with clever manipulation and
inflammatory spirit Synge took audiences close to the heart of
what fickle celebrity and lost opportunity could mean.
Village Theatre Waterdown, under the
watchful eye of director Mike Rae, gives us an appropriately
abrasive staging of Synge's comedy.
Kelly Kimpton is riveting as feisty
Pegeen Mike. Pulling back, she is capable of shimmering softly,
then suddenly letting fly, soaring in musical flights of
imagination manufactured in her quivering throat.
Bruce Edwards all but matches her as the
vulgar, filth-stained Old Mahon, Synge's surprising and dramatic
final trump card. And Brian Melanson, as feckless Shawn Keogh, a
wimp of a thing, all but steals the show with his lip-pursing
faces.
George Sanford and Tanya Fraser are
excellent as a red-nosed booze-hound, and a randy young vixen,
respectively.
Too bad Deborah Wyman, with her
red-trimmed petticoat peeping beneath black mourning skirt, is too
tame as man-hungry Widow Quin.
That brings us to Andrew Dundass' game go
at Christy Mahon.
His delivery, loud and strong,
substitutes too much surface rant for desperate feral passion. He
gives a breathy punctuation point to almost every serious line.
More importantly, he fails to suggest a powerful physical charisma
that would send shockwaves of sexual energy to buoy restless
female hearts.
There are several annoying quibbles. When
Barbara Pepper has taken such pains with her evocative and
splendid set, why does Dundass bed down on a rigid, slim bench?
It's hardly believable.
Later, when he whacks his father with a
shovel, why is there no blood on its pan?
After such pains have been taken to make
Dundass dirty, why is his underwear, poking through the rents in
his trousers, modern and clean?
And someone really needs to frisk every
actor before allowing them on stage, removing facial jewellery,
modern watches and anachronistic rings.
Realism can be shattered by the smallest
detail.
Still, this Playboy is one of the best
community theatre productions I've seen all season.
Fiddler Stephen Fuller, and the Manning
Irish Dancers have helped to secure it in appropriate time and
place.
Rae's gritty, Waterdown production, with
its wildly beating heart, has clung to the dark side of Synge's
tale.
That's why we don't see leprechauns.
There's not a green man in sight.
Sally Panavas
View Magazine
Thirty
years ago, a group of enthusiastic, young thespians decided that
their community could use an infusion of theatrical culture. Eager
to bring the magic of theatre to the township of Waterdown, the
group became known as Waterdown Village Theatre, and began to
stage plays for the community. To cap off their first season at
the old Waterdown Memorial Hall, they staged a production of J.M
Synge’s Irish comedy, The Playboy of the Western World. Three
decades later, the director of Playboy has decided to give another
try at staging the show that began his career with village
theatre. For what better way is there to show how far the theatre
company has come, than to improve upon past achievements?
Although I was no more than a
twinkle in my father’s eye when the first run of Playboy hit the
Waterdown stage, the growth of the company is obvious with their
encore production of the show. The theatre has achieved a new
standard of professionalism, with new comfortable seating and a
gallery of past performances. Yet, the presence of director Mike
Rae greeting patrons at the door, suggests that Village Theatre
has not lost touch with the community that has brought it fame.
You can still feel the friendly, homemade ambiance of the theatre.
Set designer Barbara Pepper has recreated the family owned pub
that provides the setting for Playboy with meticulous creativity.
From the barrels of ale littering the stage, to the wide beamed
rafters and unfinished wooden furniture, nothing appears out of
the historical context of Synge’s script. Costume designers
Helen Davie and Helena Adamczyk are similarly successful in
dressing the actors in simple, yet elegant period clothing. Amanda
Fleet, the lighting designer, complements these elements with warm
and subtle lighting.
The story of Playboy is simple
and entertaining. The small Irish town of Mayo is turned upside
down with the arrival of Christy Mahon, played by Andrew Dundass.
Mahon is a mysterious drifter who wins the hearts of several of
the Mayo women with his tale of bravery and murder. However, it is
Margaret Flaherty, played by Kelly Kimpton, who catches the eye of
the “playboy.” She is the outspoken daughter of Michael James
Flaherty, and fiancée of the sniveling Shawn Keogh (Brian
Melanson). Conflict quickly explodes as Shawn battles for his
beloved’s affection, and Margaret finds herself enticed by the
boastful stranger.
The cast of Playboy is of the
caliber that I have come to expect from Village Theatre. Kelly
Kimpton heads up a cast of strong performers, with her relaxed
portrayal of Margaret. Among a strong cast, she stands out as an
actor who is truly comfortable with both her dialect and
character. Andrew Dundass is charming as the Playboy, using the
wit of his character to win over the audience. Deborah Wyman is
amusing in her role of the nosy widow Quin. However, it is the
supporting cast that makes the world of Playboy believable. I find
it remarkable that a cast of twelve people can carry off the
challenging accent and dialect of the script. Even those in
smaller roles give meaning to their lines, rather than allowing
themselves to be bogged down by the Irish accent. The cast appears
unified and familiar with each other, which is appropriate given
the close relationship of their characters.
Director Mike Rae has added
small touches which make this production quite enjoyable. The
audience is treated to gifted performances by the Manning Irish
Dancers, and fiddler Stephen Fuller. The details are often what
make or break a show, a fact that Mike Rae has eagerly embraced.
For those of you who missed
The Playboy of the Western World at Village Theatre in 1972, for
whatever reason, here is your chance to experience the wonder of
J.M Synge’s blarney comedy in all its glory. Stop bein’ a
streeler and catch the next dray to Waterdown with yer da’ to
see this tale of Irish puzzle-the-world!
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