Virginians take on O’Casey classic

Thomas Lyons

“Th' whole worl's in a terrible state o' chassis,” Jack Boyle says at the end of Juno and the Paycock. Falling somewhere between nonsense and profound observation it is one of the great lines from the O'Casey masterpiece.
This week the Virginians brings Sean O'Casey's Juno and the Paycock to the stage of the Ramor Theatre for three nights. It is a complex play dealing with possibly the most politically tumultuous period of modern Irish history.
Although uniquely Irish in tone, temperament and theme Juno has the components of a classical tragedy. In Roman mythology Juno is the protector and counsel and, although O'Casey has a different explanation for the central character's sobriquet, it is a rather apt name.
First staged at the Abbey Theatre in 1924 it is the second of his "Dublin Trilogy" – the other two being The Shadow of a Gunman and The Plough and the Stars. Juno and the Paycock takes place in the tenements of Dublin in 1922, just after the outbreak of the Civil War, and revolves around the misfortunes of the dysfunctional Boyle family.
For all of its heart-rending sorrow there is more that a little humour in this work. Even in a world of struggle and loss, O’Casey injects moments of warmth and humour that have made this play a favourite for theatre-goers for almost a century.

Early endeavours
Taking up the post at the tiller of The Virginians' show is director Vincent Lee: “It's going very well. We are rehearsing since December. They are a very enthusiastic group,” he told the Celt about the preparations.
The Virginians came together as a group five or six years ago to do a charity concert. Vincent said that from humble beginnings the troupe has grown: “A lot of our players were involved in Scór. We won the Cavan Scór a few times, a piece on 1916 was particularly popular and we did some work for Culture Night. Our early endeavours introduced a lot of people to drama.
“We hadn't done a full length play until last year, and Mary Hanley encouraged us to take one on. We did Sive and we played to full houses. We got standing ovations every night so that was a bit of encouragement to go again.”
The Juno and the Paycock production hopes to build on the success of last year.
“We have most of the cast from Sive taking part. There are also a few newcomers, it is a bigger cast. It's an ambitions one to take on, but some of us are very familiar with it. We have designed our own set and we are getting it built ourselves. There are some very talented people in our group. For example Jim McPartlin (Joxer) and Eadaoin Briody (Mrs Tankret), they have great ideas and contribute to the show in many ways.”

Enjoyable
The impressive cast also includes Joe Hanley (Captain Boyle), Frances O'Connell (Juno), Alexis Sheridan (Johnny), Grace Kelly (Mary), Marian Clancy (Maisie Madigan), Jimmy Fitzsimons (Needle Nugent), and Rory O'Connell (Charles Bentham).
Vincent said that the cast make his job enjoyable: “We have a terrific group and very committed to the production.”
This year Vincent's workload is a little less onerous that it was for Sive: “I directed and played a part last year, but it is quite difficult to combine the two, so this time out I am staying behind the scene. We are hoping for more full houses this year. We get great support from the public. The Ramor have a great clientele they come from far and wide, they are not just from Virginia.”
Juno and the Paycock by the Virginians runs from March 22 to 24. Start time is 8pm and admission €16 and €14 concessions.