Yours truly is back on stage

I’ll be “breaking a leg” this evening, as the saying goes in the theatre circle to wish a performer good luck. Seventeen strong cast, myself and my son included, from Skerries Theatre Group, will be on stage for the performance of ‘Same Old Moon.’

A little synopsis of the play:

Same Old Moon shows scenes in the life of Brenda Barnes, an aspiring writer. We follow her from age nine to fortyish and see through her eyes her eccentric and sometimes fiery Irish family—her wilful and self-destructive Dad, her put-upon, sometimes hot-tempered Mum, and many others.

It is a charming, but not uncritical, look at family life with some wonderful acting roles.

Geraldine Aron's "Irish Girl Growing Up and Flying the Coop" story is a sentimental tragicomedy overly light on the "tragi-"; even the real family schism of an Irish Catholic/Rhodesian Jewish marriage draws complacent audience laughter. It offers no new perspectives on the Irish experience in England, Gestapo nuns, or any of the other usuals, and its ending has one and a half too many teaspoons of sugar for comfort. 

Hilarious scrapes erupt when Brenda’s imagination and intelligence bump against the restrictions of Irish and English customs and society.

Running 2nd – 12th April, book your tickets online here: https://www.ticketsource.eu/skerries-threatre-group

Years ago, I didn't exactly go out there looking for a part on stage. The stage came looking for me.

I was at work one day minding my own business ‘jejely’, when two middle-aged white dudes came in. They approached me and said, “We hope you won't be offended by the question we want to ask you.”

I swear my mind went into a 99-question-and-answer phase. I kept thinking, “What the hell y’all white dudes looking for?” “This better not be a ménage-a-trois situation?” “I’m not looking for a man, I’m married.”

All this while, I plastered a tight smile on my lips and had a neutral look on my face. Then, I finally responded, “So what is the question?” I asked.

“We hope you will come and join our play production at the theatre,” one of the gentlemen responded. “There is a wonderful part which would be perfect for you in a play called Doubt,” the other gentleman said.

The play, ’Doubt’, is an American drama film written and directed by John Patrick Shanley, based on his Pulitzer Prize-winning and Tony Award-winning 2004 stage play Doubt: A Parable. The film takes place in a Catholic elementary school named St. Nicholas. Viola Davis played Mrs Miller, the part I was being offered.

In other words, I thought to myself, they are looking for a black woman to play this role. They didn’t say it, but I know, and I’m sure they know that I know too.  

Anyway, like the newbie I was back then, I tried not to show any excitement when I accepted the role of joining the cast of the play, Doubt.

That was my stage debut with Skerries Theatre Group back in 2011. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but being an African, I was expecting to get paid, PERIOD. Africans like me do not work for free, so I believe. 

Anyway, I tried to raise the subject, but I had no idea how to phrase it without sounding weird. I could see the euro signs in my mind, but they were not tangible. We Africans, we too like better 'thing'. That includes money. To cut a long story short, there was no payment. People in drama/theatre groups perform out of sheer love for the stage. I was utterly dumbfounded and speechless. I was led to believe that this was some sort of hobby. This 'na oyinbo lifestyle o'. I 'tire'.

A camaraderie of sorts developed between me and my fellow cast members. 

Even though I said never again to free venture, in 2022, I ended up being cast in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ by Tennessee Williams, an American Playwright and Screenwriter. I played the cameo role of Jasmine. I also persuaded my son to join me, and he made his stage debut.

Now again, yours truly is back on stage, with my son, George, with Skerries Theatre Group for the smashing play, ‘Same Old Moon.’

 @followersYinkaParm
@SkerriesTheatreGroup