Offaly stage group engross audiences with production of 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'

BIRR Stage Guild's production of the Tennessee Williams classic 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' engrossed audiences at Birr Theatre & Arts Centre for three nights last weekend.

It was a tense and taut drama which was performed to a very high standard by the Stage Guild cast and kept everyone on tenterhooks until the final scene.

The acting was excellent and credit has to be given to them for maintaining a high level of performance throughout the play, particularly some of the main characters who had a huge amount of dialogue to learn.

'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' is quite a long play, running to over three hours including the two intervals, so it demanded a lot of concentration from the audience, who proved to be very attentive and watched engrossed as the tale unfolded, showing very little sign of restlessness.

The play is set on a big cotton plantation in American South where wealthy tycoon Big Daddy Pollitt is celebrating his 65th birthday and family and friends have gathered for the occasion. However, tensions over some deeply held family secrets are simmering in the background, and begin to come to the surface as the evening progresses. The Pulitzer Prize winning play throws a spotlight on these complex family relationships and teases them out in dramatic and at times explosive scenarios.

Director Blathnaid Ryan-Purcell took the reins for this production and can take credit for a fine production that, while lengthy, still managed to pique the interest of the audience to the end. With a well drilled cast, the characters were well defined, accents were maintained well all the way, and the interaction between the characters was slick.

The first two act of the play followed similar patterns in that the bulk of each act just involved two characters, Brick and his wife Maggie in the first act, and Brick and his father Big Daddy in the second act. That was quite demanding and involved a huge amount of dialogue for the characters involved, particularly Maggie in the first act, and enormous credit has to go to the cast members involved for learning such a large volume of dialogue and performing it so effortlessly. It was a mark of the standard of the performance that it flowed so well with just a couple of slight blips.

As mentioned the first act principally featured Maggie and Brick played by Mary Hoctor and Darren Madden respectively. Brick is a former football player who has turned to alcohol and is tortured by the death of his best friend Skipper and his guilt about the nature of their relationship and he has bottled all that up inside of him. His wife Maggie is a beautiful woman, deeply in love with Brick but without that love being reciprocated. Mary Hoctor was excellent as Maggie. She effectively has to carry that first act as she dominates almost all the dialogue and Mary did a wonderful job, maintaining character and accent and portraying the depth of the character with great effect.

Darren Madden did a fine job playing the character who only seemed to be interested in his next drink. He is moody and disdainful of Maggie's attempts to get close to him and Darren depicted that very well.

He is also very strongly involved in the second act this time with Big Daddy played by Michael Donegan. Darren again displays his character's meaner side and rows with his father. The interaction between them was very strong and came across very well.

Michael Donegan gave a terrific portrayal of Big Daddy. His actions, accent and overall performance of the role brought the character to life in a very strong way. There are question marks over Big Daddy's health and that raises questions about who will inherit his big plantation.

His wife, Big Momma was played by Maeve O'Donovan, who encapsulated the role perfectly. Big Momma is dedicated to his family, particularly Big Daddy, and tends to overly fuss around them but her efforts are not always appreciated. Maeve captured the essence of this character accurately and was a strong presence on stage whenever she appeared.

Gooper is the less favoured son of Big Daddy and Big Momma and he is married to Mae, and those roles were played by Dickie Donnelly and Sarahgene Loughnane respectively. They have five children with another on the way and are desperate to inherit the family estate. Dickie gave a very effective portrayal of the son trying to win the favour of his parents so that they will leave the estate to him and his family, showing that slight hint of desperation knowing that Brick is the more favoured son.

Sarahgene was excellent as the pregnant Mae, constantly singing the praises of her children and trying to impress their grandparents, and her catty barbs with Maggie, regularly pointing out she had no children, were a feature of the action, in what was overall a very strong performance.

The main cast were back up by strong performances in lesser roles by Robert Alexander as Reverend Tooker, Adrian Shine as Doctor Baugh and Dawn Legace as Sookie, while the children's roles were played by Dylan Hoctor, Jessamie Purcell, Heidi Hoctor and Ashton Fogarty.

Birr Stage Guild were rewarded for their progressive decision to stage this award winning play and drama enthusiasts certainly appreciated the wonderful efforts of everyone involved in a very successful production.

CAST

Maggie – Mary Hoctor; Brick – Darren Madden; Mae – Sarahgene Loughnane; Gooper – Dickie Donnelly; Big Daddy – Michael Donegan; Big Momma – Maeve O'Donovan; Reverend Tooker – Robert Alexander; Sookie – Dawn Legace; Buster – Dylan Hoctor; Dixie – Jessamie Purcell; Trixie – Heidi Hoctor; Sonny – Ashton Fogarty.

Production Credits

Director – Blathnaid Ryan-Purcell; Lights – Connor Keaveny; Sound – Dickie Donnelly; Props – Miriam Leaver, Roisin Gilmore Feehan, Dickie Donnelly; Photographer – Robert Alexander; Props/voiceover – Dawn Legace; Film clip of Skipper – John Murdock.