Thursday 27 March 2014

Play: 13, Rue de l' Amour

Today was the only day, sadly, that we could get to the Clare Drama Festival, held every Easter in my old school, Scarriff Community College. We make a point of going every year, but, well, this has been a busy year.. So anyway, we welcomed the chance to go tonight.

We decided, as usual, to eat in Teach Uí Bhriain Eating House, down the road in Tuamgraney. The food is good, and reasonably priced, the service friendly, and the atmosphere cosy. There is a proper restaurant off the bar, but we prefer to eat at a table in the bar proper, if there's space. It's got a better atmosphere, you're mixing with the locals, there's a real fire roaring at one end. And you can watch the television, if you want. Tonight, our regular corner was free, and we sat there. Where we could watch the actors come to eat - this establishment is listed as one of the festival sponsors, and I think it takes the form of a free meal for the performers, because you always see them in here beforehand.

As we explained to the boss, Nuala, the only reason we're not there more often is because I'm away now. Anyway, my mother ordered darne of salmon, as usual, and I decided to go for the chicken korma, which I know is delicious here. And garlic bread to start. Their garlic bread is always a matter of curiosity - it takes so many forms. Tonight, it took the form of very thick toasted triangles, smeared with garlic butter. Yum.. my mother proclaimed the salmon to be exceptionally good, and my korma was, indeed, delicious. The only problem was the portion size - I really regretted having to leave some of my chicken, but there was so much! Make sure you're very hungry, coming here.. We skipped dessert.

We were very early, and did a small shop in Niland's service station, which lies between the pub and the school - mainly to pass the time. We considered having an ice cream at the small cafe at the back of the store, but were still too full after dinner. And then we headed to the school, where ours was the second car to arrive in the car park to the left of the gate, in front of the gym, where the festival is held. Which, of course, led to much debate about where to put the car and which direction to point it in - we've had trouble getting out of here before, on busy nights. And once that was settled, we had a long wait for the doors to open. Well, we had a car to sit in, and could listen to the radio.

The play tonight was 13, Rue de l' Amour - a farce, set in Paris in the 1890s. Not being a popularly known play, and not performed by a local group - this festival is open to, and attended by, groups from all over Ireland - we didn't expect a massive crowd, and we were proved right. We kept a careful eye on the door, and only moved when people started going in - it's very cold out tonight. And after some discussion on where to sit, we chose seats on the right, centre of the row, after my mother being so sick of having to keep getting up and down for people when she was sitting on the aisle, the night before.

I didn't see many people I know. There was my old commerce teacher, whose husband is involved with the festival administration, so she always comes. She looked a bit haggard - my mother said she thought she'd been ill. And there was an old classmate of mine, who, last I heard, was a nurse in Limerick - but we were never that close, and I didn't bother making my way over to her. My mother, however, was in her element, finding a couple of old friends to chat to, one of whom she was surprised to learn is into drama in a big way, and attends a lot of these things. He sat with us for the evening. It was also nice for her that the tea/coffee service was ready right from the start, instead of her having to wait for the interval.. and for €2, you can have a cup of either, with as many biscuits - of assorted varieties - as you can carry without feeling guilty. So she had tea and a Rich Tea biscuit, and I had a selection of chocolate biscuits..

You can't miss when something is about to happen. They don't have a dimmer switch, so they just cut out the main lights completely for a few seconds, twice. So you're plunged into near-complete darkness. And for the introduction, they have to turn off the heating so the man in the bow tie can be heard. But by that stage, it's warmed up nicely. We had a couple of large-headed men in front of us, but we managed, and they moved slightly for the second half, leaving a gap for us to see by. We were very impressed with the ornate set, designed to represent a middle-class drawing room.

The play itself has several characters - the philandering husband, who reminded me of the husband of a friend of mine. (Not to cast aspersions on his character!) His wife, who, I thought, stole the show, as the gorgeously costumed wronged wife, who sets out to wreak revenge. Mind you, the adjudicator afterwards had some comments about her costumes, which didn't quite skim the ground, which wouldn't have been appropriate for the period. The doctor, who's besotted with her. The nephew, a young man-about-town. I thought his broad country accent sounded funny for a young debonair Parisian, but never mind. The maid. The friend of the philanderer, who's being used as an alibi, but he doesn't know it. The concierge of the apartment building at 13 Rue de l' Amour, where everyone goes to conduct their trysts. The police inspector, played, in this instance, by the play director. And some extras playing gendarmes.

The play started off feeling a bit stilted - the adjudicator later remarked that this was a fault of the play, rather than the performers. But it soon became apparent that at least some of the performers really knew their stuff. And one of the most enjoyable aspects of the play was the stage design - they had to depict two scenes, and used the same basic set for each, with alternative decorations hidden behind panels, and revealed when appropriate. And two panels that swivelled entirely, to reveal completely different furniture. These, as well as a writing desk that turned into a sofa, earned the company a round of applause when they demonstrated them while doing the first scene change, fully lit so the crowd could see what was happening. Much appreciated!

We bought some raffle tickets at the interval, which ended up not being winners, but which I filled our names out on and dropped in the box for the final night draw. Which, sadly, we won't be there for - but they also have our contact details. And the second half of the show gleaned far more laughs than the first, with some clever plot twists. A nice feature of attending shows in a festival like this is that there's adjudication after every performance, and we hung around tonight for that. The judge's credentials, listed in the programme, were impeccable, although, while I agreed with most of what he said, I did think the way he expressed himself was a bit technical for a non-professional audience. His comments, mind you, were well heeded by someone - for the duration of his address, a door to the side was held open by a tantalizing arm, belonging to someone whose face could not be seen..

It's a pity we won't get to any more, but it finishes at the weekend, and we're heading to Limerick for the next two nights - we have booked for A Skull in Connemara in the University Concert Hall tomorrow night, and Noye's Fludde, by Britten, in St Mary's Cathedral on Saturday.

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