AMONG THE many notable events being staged in Galway to mark the Volvo Ocean Race, one of the highlights is Druid’s revival of their much-lauded Playboy Of The Western World at the Town Hall for five nights only, from June 2 to 6.
The revival, which also commemorates the centenary of Synge’s death in 1909, is at present in the midst of a British tour prior to its Galway return. It sees Aaron Monaghan reprising the lead role of Christy Mahon following his stunning portrayal of Cripple Billy in Martin McDonagh’s Cripple of Inishmaan, which earned him a Best Actor nomination at the 2008 Irish Times Theatre Awards.
The stellar cast also includes Derbhle Crotty, winner of Best Actress at the 2008 Irish Times Theatre Awards, Andrew Bennett, Clare Dunne, Andy Kellegher, Aidan Kelly, Marcus Lamb, Christiane O’Mahony, John Olohan, Gemma Reeves, and Seona Tully.
For Seona Tully, a graduate of Galway Youth Theatre making her Druid debut, the production marks a significant personal family connection. Seona takes the role of Honor Blake, one of the three ‘village girls’ in the play, and in Druid’s 1977 production of Playboy, Seona’s mother Orna Garvey played another of that trio, Sarah Tansey.
On Monday afternoon, both mother and daughter were in Richmond, looking forward to that evening’s performance in the local theatre and sharing impressions of working with Druid then and now.
“The tour has been going fantastically,” Seona enthuses. “To be honest I’m still a little in awe of the whole experience, it’s mind-boggling for me to find myself here working with Garry Hynes and all these brilliant actors.
“I got the part after sending my CV to casting director Maureen Hughes who asked me in to read for her. A short time after that she brought me back to read for Garry and a week later they told me I had the role.”
Seona’s mother runs the Garvey School of Speech and Drama so was the daughter always destined to go on stage?
“I grew up surrounded by scripts,” she recalls, “but initially I didn’t have any particular vocation for theatre. Then after leaving school I got ill and had to defer going to university so I was looking around for something else I could do in the meantime and I enrolled in Galway Youth Theatre.
“It was while I was working with them that I really fell in love with theatre and acting; it was such a great experience working with people like Andrew Flynn and Rod Goodall. Now it is the one thing I want to keep doing.”
Watching her daughter following in her own footsteps with Druid and Playboy brings back plenty of memories for Orna Garvey, which she happily shares.
“First off I’m very jealous,” she laughs. “It makes me wish I was there too! Of course it brings back memories of my time with the show. I had just done my Leaving Cert and I heard Druid were doing auditions so I went along; I remember there was a queue outside the Foc’sle Theatre at the Atlanta Hotel.
“I did my piece and the next day I got a call back that I had the role. I had a fantastic time working on the show; the cast included the likes of Mick Lally, Maeliosa Stafford, Sean McGinley, and Marie Mullen and I learned so much from them and from Garry.
“There was just this immense discipline and professionalism in the way Garry and her company approached the work yet at the end of the day when work was finished we could all relax and have a great laugh together. That fostered a great company spirit, there was a genuine respect for each other. I can see that it is just the same today as it was then and that’s partly why Druid enjoy the kind of prestige and success which they do.”
For all her own love of theatre, Garvey wasn’t one of those mothers that insisted on propelling her daughter to the stage.
“In some ways I’d have preferred her to be an accountant or something like that as I’m very aware that theatre can be an uncertain business to try and make a livelihood in,” she observes, “but Seona always had talent in that area and it all fell into place for her while she was with GYT so now she is pursuing it seriously and she is already at her final stage auditions with LAMDA and RADA so hopefully she can build on what she has achieved so far and make a career for herself.”
Seona’s memorable performances to date with GYT, in plays like Country Music and Crestfall, and her selection by Garry Hynes to be part of Druid’s current tour certainly augur well for her future. And while she’s revelling in the play’s ongoing British tour, she is especially looking forward to performing with it in Galway.
“The audience reactions here have been great but I think there are definitely aspects of the play that Irish audiences ‘pick up’ more so we’re all excited about going back to Galway with it,” Seona says. “Druid and Synge have such a big following there that it’s always a special occasion to do the work there and I’m thrilled to be part of it.”
Druid’s Playboy has not only become a signature production for the company - one they have successfully revisited several times down the years - but has been widely hailed as the definitive staging of the play, masterfully balancing the darkness and comedy of this enduring classic.
It runs at the Town Hall from Tuesday June 2 to Saturday 6 at 8pm. Tickets are €25/18 and available through 091 - 569777.
