The
Country Girls
Last
Thursday night (Thursday 31st May) I saw Edna O' Brien's stage play "The Country Girls" at the Gaiety
Theatre Dublin. The Country
Girls (set in the 1950s) was first published in
1960 as a book and premiered as a stage play at Garter Lane Theatre, Waterford,
in October 2011, produced by Red Kettle Theatre Company in association with
Garter Lane Arts Centre, Waterford, Ireland
The
Set was designed by Ben Hennessy. Ben is a Founder Member and Artistic Director
of Red Kettle. He works as a director, designer, writer and painter and in this
instance; he brings a painterly quality to his scenographic interpretation for
this traveling set for The Country Girls.
While the script’s author Ms. Edna O’Brien is quite prescriptive on how the stage
is set and to an extent how it looks (a touch of Beckett), Ben Hennessy’s
solution satisfies the needs of a traveling set for a travelling show on a
restricted budget at the expense of a more enhancing solution.
A
painted curved backcloth, a painted floor cloth and four masking pieces of
hanging gauze masking the wings, define the performance space and are the
constant environment in which the play unfolds.
The
painted curved backcloth and the painted floor cloth are both painted in broad
strokes in tones of white to dark grey (a la Sean Scully-esque). A useful
technique whereby the lighter paint tones pick up and reflect any coloured light used by the Lighting Designer (Conleth White) to
accentuate a dramatic moment, an atmosphere, an emotional moment or place, etc.
The
hanging legs of Gauze/Muslin masking the wings also pick up the ambient light
and one is used in the traditional way to hide & reveal a statue.
Up
stage left and right are what appear to be two steel tube scaffold platforms
with steps. These constructions also remain on stage throughout the two Acts of
the play. They work at indicating an upstairs first floor in Kate’s home and as
Pulpit in the Convent, and Gang Planks in the closing scene,
The
only visual contribution to establishing the period in which the story is set
comes from the Costume Designer Léonore McDonagh. Through her Costume Designs,
Léonore McDonagh establishes the characters, their age, their gender, their
socio-economic standing, occupation and their demographic and contributes
hugely to establishing the where and when of the play.
Foot notes:
The
action piece of hanging of clothes on a manually held cloths line was an
effective and visually appealing solution to a piece of action.
The
small down stage left, boxed in flowerbed while giving a sense of exterior,
becomes utilitarian when Sister Mary buries Kate’s copy of Joyce’s Dubliners.
The
script mentions a “feather Christmas tree” action prop for the Christmas
holidays scene which I must have missed because the scene could have done with
it. While the snow effect lighting supported the seasonal ambience a small
Christmas tree would have clinched it.
It
is a useful set, if on the drab side of the solution. See the play and see what
you think of the Set, the Lighting and the Costumes and how they all work to
support the script.
Tour of Ireland 2012:
Dean Crowe Theatre, Athlone
Monday 4th June –Tuesday 5th
June
Glór, Ennis
Wednesday 6th June –
Thursday 7th June
Hawk’s Well Theatre, Sligo
Friday 8th June – Saturday
9th June
Cork Opera House
Monday 11th June – Saturday
16th June
Town Hall Theatre, Galway
Monday 18th June – Saturday
23rd June
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