The Real Mrs. Brown: The Authorised Biography of Brendan O'Carroll by Beacom Brian

Author:Beacom, Brian [Beacom, Brian]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Published: 2013-09-12T00:00:00+00:00

The Secret Millionaire

Brendan thought his play was funny. And, having read it, so did Gerry. But what did they know about theatre? (Gerry had only ever seen one play in his life.)

The pair decided to enlist the help of Lee Dunne, who’d written the classic Dublin book Goodbye to the Hill, which had been turned into a play. And so the waiter and the milkman took off to see Dunne’s play performed in the Peacock Theatre, set under the main Dublin bus terminus.

‘When I went along to check out the play, I was a bit late arriving. The play had already started and I tried to sneak quietly into the auditorium. But I was captured by the usherette, a blonde lady who didn’t know me from Adam, who showed me in the direction of my seat and said, “Sit the feck there!” And so I did, thinking, “Jaysus, I wouldn’t like to get on the wrong side of that one!”’

Brendan settled down to watch the play but, as the on-stage drama unfolded, his eyes suddenly opened as wide as the stage itself. The ‘usherette’ who had just given him a dressing down had made her way up onto the stage. She was playing the female lead.

‘And she was good. Very, very good. And it turned out this was Jennifer Gibney, an actress I’d been tipped off about beforehand. She’d been waiting outside in the foyer because her character had to make her entrance from the back of the hall. And the reason she was so pissed off was she’d been told an important guest – me – was due to arrive, and became fed up with the waiting. So we didn’t get off to a great start.

‘But not only was she brilliant, she got a standing ovation at the end. And far bigger applause than any of the other actors.’

Though possibly it helped that Jenny, a statuesque blonde and also from Finglas, had been working part-time in a bank and a group of around twenty colleagues had come along to support her. Hence the huge cheer.

Yet, she was still very good. And Brendan had found the actress to play the downtrodden housewife, Emily Beauchamp.

He didn’t look too far in recruiting the rest of the team. Brendan played Joe, the PMA boss (who, in fact, had few comedic lines; everyone else got the chance to shine). Gerry played Will Benson, the cynical, recovering alcoholic, and Brendan Keely, whom they had met during the Rathmines stint, was perfect for the fey, out-of-work actor, even though he’d never acted before.

Brendan Morrisey, Paul Lee (an established actor from the prestigious Abbey Theatre) and Ciaron McMahon completed the cast.

Brendan and Gerry, once again, tried to recruit from people they knew. The wardrobe mistress, Mary Cullen, had an alterations shop in Finglas, and had never worked in a theatre in her life. Brendan reckoned she’d soon learn what was required. And she did. The family was growing.

Did it matter that Brendan and Gerry had never acted on stage before? Not to them.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.