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By Bridget O’Connor
The Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester
25th October 2007
Review by Rachael Mitchinson
Imagine going to the theatre, but instead of getting the regular royal
red chairs and the ordinary stage in front of you, you have to tread
through gravel and sand to get to your seat, and the audience are
sitting practically toe to toe with the cast. This is theatre in the
round a la Royal Exchange, Manchester.
‘The Flags’ has a small cast of only four people, which consists of the
two main characters (lifeguards JJ and Howie), ‘the girl’ and Brendan (a
snooty council rep).
Life guards JJ and Howie attempt to impress Councillor Brendan in order
to receive a promotion to prestigious jobs at Bangor beach. Their
hilarious and somewhat hypocritical efforts rouse much laughter from the
audience. Continuous use of their catchphrase “dude” is a constant
reminder of JJ’s Californian background, this juxtaposes the fact that
he is now working on a deserted, unclean, Northern Irish beach.
Francis Magee’s excellent portrayal of JJ has the theatre goers in
stitches with his constant demands and bossing around of Howie. JJ has a
stronghold over orphan Howie, as he claims he ‘secured Howie his job’,
and often makes him do all of the dirty work, such as shooting seagulls,
cleaning animal remains out of the sea, and diving in to save ‘the
girl’, while JJ sits around smoking and writing his own application for
the job at Bangor.
Actor Eamonn Owens plays a believable hapless, dumb and gullible Howie.
He arouses sympathy in the audience with references to ‘being orphaned
as a child’ but also evokes humour whilst doing this, as he tells tales
of all the various random illnesses each of his family members have died
from. Siobhan McSweeny does a good job playing the challenging role of
‘the girl’, who is an escapee from a mental institution. Finally, a
character whom most people can relate to (snobbish councillor Brendan),
is portrayed by Kieran Cunningham outstandingly.
All in all, I had a very enjoyable night, and it isn’t often you see a
whole audience in fits of laughter. I thoroughly recommend ‘The Flags’
as ‘one to watch’ this year.
Recommended link:
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www.royalexchange.co.uk
►
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