View from the Green Room: Finding redemption in the impossible dream
Standing ovation for Man of La Mancha.
I can’t believe that it’s exactly thirty years since Carrick-on-Suir Musical Society’s inspirational production of Man of La Mancha in this same theatre. The late Dick Meany, who directed the show and after whom the Strand Theatre is now named, would have been delighted with this current production of a show that is really an iconic piece of musical theatre.
The musical is inspired by the seventeenth-century Cervantes, who, as a tax-collector, is arrested after pinning a notice for taxes on the local monastery. Pinning a rates demand on a church at the height of the Spanish Inquisition probably rates at 486 on the scale of bad ideas that runs from zero to invading Russia in the winter. Little wonder that the playwright finds himself in the slammer awaiting ‘purification’ from the torturers of the Spanish Inquisition.
As a piece of theatre, Man of La Mancha is fascinating. While in the Seville dungeon, Cervantes tells the fascinating story of his mad knight Don Quixote as a play within a play and casts the murderers, harlots, cut-throats and thieves as the dramatis personae of the work. The seamless interweaving from the world of the dungeon to the world of the imagination of a madman – who believes he is a fourteenth-century knight – is a masterclass in writing. Director Andrew Holden, choreographer Claire O’Hara and musical director Fergal Carroll, and a strong cast, work hard to bring that world to the stage.
Neill Bourke is a colossus as Cervantes/Quixote. He anchors the entire script, plays the two main characters – poet of the theatre Cervantes and fourteenth-century daft knight Don Quixote, who "sallies forth to right all wrongs and scatters heathens, wizards and serpents of sin" – and his magnificent bass in the huge numbers is a joy.
Bourke doesn’t simply play Cervantes/Quixote, he invests him with the wisdom of a druid and the humanity of a writer who has known battle… "we are all men of La Mancha". (Writer Miguel de Cervantes fought in the Battle of Lepanto on October 7, 1571, where he served as a soldier aboard the galley Marquesa. Despite a fever, he refused to stay below deck and sustained three gunshot wounds - two in the chest and one that permanently maimed his left hand, earning him the nickname ‘El Manco de Lepanto’).
Eoin Sheedy is superb as Quixote’s innocent man-servant/squire Sancho Panza. His devotion to his master is endearing and his ability to navigate on the edge of his master’s flights and fights of fantasy is remarkable.
Louise Mulcahy gives a fine, earthy performance as Aldonza, who is transformed by Quixote’s belief in her inner goodness and completes the trio at the heart of this drama. All the ‘I am’ moments in the show, where characters declare their true selves, are well directed by Andrew Holden, who recently won the Green Room Award for Best Director. ‘I am I Don Quixote, the Lord of La Mancha’; Sancho’s ‘I like him’ and ‘My name is Aldonza the whore’ are all defining moments in this production.
It’s a musical that needs hard work from all its cast and the work of the minor principles is vital. Liam Butler is a strong Governor/Innkeeper who anchors the show and Ray Nolan gives an excellent performance in the meaty role of Don Carrasco and the Knight of the Mirrors, who shatters poor old Quixote’s impossible dream.
Tobie Hickey is superb as the cynical heard-it-all-before Padre who still manages to show a sincere concern for his ailing parishioner and his ‘To Each his Dulcinea’ is one of the highlights of the show.
Ensemble work throughout is the strength of this show. Liadhain O’Shea as the will-awaiting Antonia and Sandra Pow as Quixote’s exasperated housekeeper are an impatient part of the knight’s household as they wait for their master to head for the castle in the sky.
Caolán Deehy-Power is great fun as the Barber who simply wants to make money shaving heads; Bryanna Lima is the much put-upon Innkeeper’s wife, while Jim Kennedy is an intimidating Captain of the Inquisition. There’s excellent supporting work from the Muleteers – Audie Murphy, Bobby Landers, Jonathan Caulfield, Jack Coady, Richard Dunphy and Declan Smith-Robinson.
There’s lots of stage business from Director Andrew Holden and choreographer Claire O’Hara but I would have liked to see more of the ensemble work brought downstage along with Aldonza’s big number.
An imaginative set from John O’Donoghue although the upstage left rostrum never really worked. The iconic onstage transformation of Cervantes into Don Quixote in full view of the audience is a missed opportunity when it takes place behind this veiled rostrum. Atmospheric lighting design by Alan McCormack, along with grime-tattered costumes, give us that claustrophobic, monotonous, choking experience of the medieval dungeon that is lit up by Cervantes’ story of Quixote.
Musical Director Fergal Carroll drives the production along at a fine pace; there’s some fine choral work to enjoy and the Spanish flavour of the score adds great drama to the story.
Another splendid production from Carrick-on-Suir Musical Society.
