The Beauty Queen of Leenane

I have now seen quite a number of plays by this theatrical group and they have a wealth of talented actors who have played many roles in various genres of story. This dark, gritty plot, set in Ireland, about mental health issues and a difficult mother/daughter relationship was a real test of their abilities in this production, with just four actors on stage for the duration of the play. This quartet did a brilliant job of bringing the characters to a place of belief to us, the audience. The dialogue was copious and complicated and this was managed with expertise. Set in Ireland, the dialogue spoken with an Irish brogue was kept up throughout the whole performance.

The four people enacting this sad story containing despair and unhappiness, although tinged with patches of humour which really made us laugh, were Debbie Creissen, Jacqueline Jordan, Jimmy Schofield and Guy Steddon. Debbie Creissen as Mag Folan was the bossy, intolerant, demanding mother leading and attempting to control her daughter’s life. Jacqueline Jordan was that daughter, Maureen, mostly doing as she was told but also having bouts of retaliation towards the old lady. Jimmy Schofield as Ray Dooley was the fly in the ointment in the plot, not liking the old lady and causing much grief to the daughter. Guy Steddon was the daughter’s first lover, Pato Dooley. Apart from all the interactive dialogue throughout, he had a long soliloquy at the beginning of act two. All four were completely committed to their characters and performed to their absolute best.

Also needing commendation are the set builders, fitting all the necessary props and requirements for the action into a cottage kitchen. The lighting was precise and the sound technicians had plenty to do with recordings of radio and television excerpts which had to be well timed to match the dialogue. The Director (Nettie Sheridan) must be given much credit for knitting this mix of talents together to make a polished and seamless piece of theatre.

I was not quite sure about the understanding of the final scenes and ending, but I think it was meant to be open-ended and in the mind of the individual audience member. If it was a definitive ending, I missed it but nevertheless, a good evening’s entertainment was had by an appreciative audience. Congratulations to the whole team.  

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