Oct 2008 - Morrison's Academy

Page 96 The Morrisonian | 07/08 Co-Curricular
Drama
“The Monster That Ate 3b”
by Randall Lewton (adapted by
Patrick O’Kane)
What a splendid rollercoaster of a
show this was: from the relative calm
of pre-show canapés (courtesy of Mrs
Maguire) and the opening sequence
of an Italian boy (Lindsay Duncan)
asleep in front of a fishing rod, to the
first “appearance” of the monster
(cue: music from “Jaws”), the
madcap journey of the English
teenagers (to the strains of the
“William Tell” overture by Rossini) and
the denouement that was reminiscent
of the final scene from “Swan Lake”
where evil is defeated and good
prevails. The tableau of the billowing
ocean with the monster being
defeated by Tommy and Otto (with
the help of a black pudding) was
certainly one of the highlights of the
evening.
Indeed, what was especially clever
about this production was the way
that the director (Mr O’Kane) had
taken an uneven script and infused it
with life, particularly through the
medium of sound effects, music and
mime. For instance, who would have
thought that Verdi’s music for “La
Traviata” could be used so effectively
to accompany a stylized fight
between English and Italian kids?
That is not to say that I did not enjoy
the dialogue but I feel that without
the clever embellishments this would
have been merely a good show as
opposed to being a knockout
success.
The plot was simple enough. A group
of “Bash Street Kids” and their
teachers embark upon a cultural trip
to Italy. Unfortunately, their town of
choice has been plagued by a sea
monster for many years and, in any
case, the Italian youngsters are not
particularly friendly but, you guessed
it, the young English tourists are
instrumental in ridding the place of
the monster and the play ends in
general merriment but for the
appearance of the monster’s spawn,
brought to life by Erin O’Kane. (Do you
think your Dad was trying to tell you
something, Erin?)
And what of the performances? Well,
there wasn’t a weak link in the entire
cast and it was so good to witness a
group of young people working as a
team to realize their producer’s vision
as opposed to the proverbial upstaging
that is the bane of many a
theatrical undertaking!
I particularly enjoyed the interaction
between the English schoolboys: Otto
(played by Douglas Guthrie), George
(played by Ciaran O’Kane), Fletch
(played by Gregor Gray) and Tommy
(played by Stephen Lafferty). There
was a certain Marcel Marceau
quality about Douglas’ portrayal of
fitness fanatic Otto that was funny
and endearing at the same time
(“Black Pudding, anyone?”), while
Ciaran’s George was delightfully “far
out” (“Any cheese going?”): he
reminded me of Slash from “Guns and
Roses”, all hair and not quite
connected to reality! Congratulations
are also due to Gregor Gray and
Stephen Lafferty who gave very
convincing performances as naïve
Fletch and dependable Tommy. In
my opinion these were more difficult
parts to pull off than those played by
Douglas and Ciaran but pull them off
they did! Well done! I also liked
Rachael Jones’ Nora who let us listen
into her diary of the trip. She had a
certain quiet dignity that proved to be
a welcome contrast to the mayhem
that was going on around her.
The three members of staff, played by