IT IS very likely the world’s first drama series produced entirely on Zoom, and it is the brainchild of Galwegians on lockdown in Clapham Common, Buckinghamshire, An Spideal, Salthill, and Tenerife.
Coronamona is the name of the series and it has been causing something of an online sensation, as it charts the emotional journey - with humour and poignancy - of one man’s relationship with his father and his ex-girlfriend, brought back into contact with each other via a combination of ill-health, lockdown, Covid-19, and Zoom.
The show is written by Conor Montague (aka Monty, who DJed at the Róisín Dubh for many years ), who is based in Buckinghamshire; and actor John O’Dowd (Moone Boy, 1916 Seachtar na Cásca ), based in Clapham, and who was heavily involved in the Galway theatre scene for many years.
Seamus (John O’Dowd ) has been living and working in the NHS as a nurse in London. He has become distant from his family and is still grieving the break-up of his relationship with Bridie (Galway actor/director Sarah O’Toole ). However, lockdown, and the fact Seamus’s father Martín (Peadar Ó Treasaigh ) is terminally ill, force them into contact over Zoom. Will these calls see them finally open up, and face up, to each other?
From Lockdown to Coronamona
The show came about when Monty and John found themselves at a loose end. They had written a script on the life of Irish pirate queen Grainne Mhaol which had been taken up by a London production company. “Then came lockdown and everything stopped,” Monty tells me over a Zoom call on Tuesday morning, “just as we were about to get into meetings, but that is the way things happen.”
Monty teaches playwriting at the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith, London, and was able to continue holding classes via Zoom. The thought struck that Zoom might be the only medium available on which to produce drama for the time being.
'When Seamus and his father speak it’s all anecdotes and stories, they find it difficult, like a lot of Irishmen, to open up'
“Zoom is the medium everybody is using to communicate these days,” says Monty. “Broadcasting a drama via Zoom has its challenges. There are issues with freezing, and technical glitches, and issues with broadband, but if something like that does happen during a broadcast it makes it more real, as so many have been maintaining relationships on Zoom and dealing with occasional freezes and connection issues.”
Although the idea for a story of a father-son relationship originated before lockdown, lockdown and Covid-19 have influenced not only how Coronamona has been made, but also aspects of the direction of the story.
“The story has found its own way,” says John. “You start off with an idea, but it will then inform you of the direction it wants to go. We had no choice but to use Zoom, there was no other way we could get it made because of social distancing, but that has made the show more intimate. Rehearsing on Zoom did take time to get used to, but we’re also getting to work together and it’s very rewarding.”
Cast and characters
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Coronamona is centered around Seamus, an Irish immigrant to London. John outlines his character. “Seamus was with Bridie for 14 years, they travelled the world together, but they had a horrible break-up,” he says. “Since then he has battled addiction and mourned the loss of his relationship with Bridie. He is an isolated figure. His mother is dead and he has a stilted relationship with his father. He is concerned for his father and wants to come home, but knows because of the pandemic that he cannot. He also worries that, if he came back, he’d only make things worse. When he and his father speak it’s all anecdotes and stories, they find it difficult, like a lot of Irishmen, to open up, but Seamus is on a voyage of rediscovery - a reawakening of the relationship with his father, and perhaps his relationship with Bridie will at least get better.”
When considering who would play Bridie, it was John who suggested Sarah O’Toole [pictured above]. “We’re both admirers of her acting work and acting instruction,” says Monty. “It makes it much easier to write when you have someone who really inhabits the character.”
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Meanwhile Peadar Ó Treasaigh [pictured above] has proven a revelation. Highly regarded in Irish language theatre, he has worked as Gaeilge for 50 years. Coronamona is his first acting role as Bearla! “He’s such a natural, and an incredible storyteller,” says John. “A rehearsal with Peadar is two-thirds rehearsals on the script, one-third storytelling, and sometimes, some of those stories have ended up in the show.”
Drawing from Experience
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Monty’s parents were both nurses, while John’s mother also worked as a nurse, before becoming a psychotherapist. With both men living in England, they have also drawn from the experiences of NHS workers in dealing with a pandemic under a Tory administration.
“Talking to NHS workers, the public applause each Thursday is appreciated, and they know it is done with good intentions, but it doesn’t really do anything,” says John. “It doesn’t change the PPE situation, the exhaustion, the wage conditions. They would rather that then the applause. It also allows the Government off the hook.”
Coronamona’s five episodes to date can be seen via the Vagabond Production page on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR-2x1Wa0kepgkgCcaiQVnQ. It is planned there will be eight episodes in all. The theme tune is by Galway singer-songwriter Danny Darcy, with production and effects by Sean O'Dowd (John’s son ) of Galway band, NewDad.
