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Dave
Citizen
Username: Dave
Post Number: 6550
Registered: 4-1998
| | Posted on Monday, March 8, 2004 - 1:48 pm: |     |
HOLLYWOOD COMES TO RURAL IRELAND!
STONES IN HIS POCKETS, by Marie Jones
Presented by The What Exit? Theatre Co.
Stones in his Pockets, Marie Jones’ award winning play, tells the story of what happens to a small Irish village in County Kerry when a Hollywood film crew moves in. The entire community has been recruited as background in a contrived historical romance about an Ireland that never was, and they’re all eager for the chance at an easy paycheck, a few free meals and a brush with celebrity.
The action is seen through the eyes of Charlie, a former video rental store owner with a screenplay in his back pocket and Jake, another chronically unemployed local. This cast of two also portray another 13 roles between them, including: Caroline Giovanni, the glamorous movie star who has an eye for the ‘natives’; Old Mickey, the only surviving extra from “The Quiet Man” who almost dies of a heart attack at the thought of attending a funeral where no alcohol will be available; Simon the First Assistant Director whose authority is always being undermined, although unintentionally, by Aisling, his flirtatious Production Assistant… as well as a host of other extraordinary local characters.
This odd mix of extreme types provides ample opportunity for laughs, but the laughter subsides for a while when a local teenage druggie, Sean Harkin, commits suicide, a victim of unrealistic aspirations inspired by fantasies about the American dream which don’t seem to apply to him. After Sean’s death, the producers have to decide between either allowing the extras to attend the funeral or to continue shooting in order to avoid going over budget.
Stones debuted at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast in April 1999, before moving on to become the hit of the 1999 Edinburgh Festival. In London it received The Laurence Olivier and The Evening Standard Award for Best Comedy. The New York production won a Drama Desk Special Award and a Special Achievement Award from the Outer Critics Circle.
Stones In His Pockets will be presented at the Burgdorff Cultural Center, 10 Durand Road, Maplewood, April 2nd through 25th, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 3pm and 7.30pm.
The play is directed by Gary Martins with Stephen Cole Hughes as Jake, and Richard Furlong as Charlie.
For reservations and information, call 973 763 4029. |
Pippi
Citizen
Username: Pippi
Post Number: 39
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 10, 2004 - 9:36 pm: | |
I saw this when it was on broadway (off? maybe) 2-3 years ago. It blew me away, it was so well done. Two guys, no set, hardly any props and they are SO convincing as all the characters (at least the 2 actors I saw...)
I highly recommend it! |
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