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Background

In May 2004 the Irish Theatre Group entered the FEATS 2004 competition with a fresh production of ‘Winners’ by Brian Friel. The play was awarded the Tache Diamonds prize (see photo to right!) and below is the adjudicator's full assessment of the ITG entry. (FEATS is the Festival of European Anglophone Theatrical Societies and it is an annual competition between English-speaking amateur theatrical groups resident in mainland Europe to see who can put on the best production)

Adjudicator's report

The Play

This enigmatic play is part poetic romance of adolescent love and part mystery story. While the narrators are cool and dispassionate the young couple show a teenage mix of vitality and vulnerability. A successful production must bring out the different aspects in -what can be - a strangely affecting play.

Stage Presentation

With that strong blue sky and open stage there was an admirable feeling of space and simplicity. What I missed was the height of the hill a feeling that the couple are high above Ballymore (450 feet above sea level!), that they are in a more rarefied position. If the hill cannot be higher then the actors should give the impression by the way look down on the town (Consider eye levels) Greater height would have given different levels and added to variety to the stage picture. Having said that I liked the stones and the fern which gave reality to the slope – and the stone gave a good anchor for Joe to sit upon.

Mag’s costume was well-chosen but a blazer for Joe would have made him look younger and set him further back in the 60’s. He did look a young man of today. The narrators were correctly in non-de-script black – very unobtrusive. They were well-spotted by the lighting. The cyclorama suggested a glorious summer’s day and I was delighted the clouds were stationary!! Mags occasionally slipped out of the hillside light – but overall the lighting contributed much to the success of the production

Production

This can be a very static production – but the director clearly understood that – and kept the piece visually alive and interesting. The narrators must remain impassive so all the movement must come from the young people and here the director moved them with natural motivation. This easy and telling movement was a strong feature of the production.

I understand the problems but try to link the house lights going down with the opening music to smoothly transport us from Antwerp to Co Tyrone. In fact the opening music might have been more obviously Irish.

The opening speeches from the narrators are very important as there quite a few facts to be taken in by the audience so slow them down; there was a tendency to rush here. Later allow the narrator to point the key line about Mag being pregnant before she jumps on Joe. But the contrasting characters of the young couple were clearly defined:

Joe – studious, mature, thoughtful and taciturn
Mag – mercurial, effervescent, loquacious

When Mag is stretched out prattling on beware of rushing the speeches to much as the words were disappearing into the flies. Once she sat up clarity returned. Her pain spasm was a well directed climax of the production – but most of the high moments were achieved successfully eg Mag’s demand for a proposal, and Joe’s outburst against her for her constant chattering.

It was a neat idea to have the break between the episodes marked by music and a change of position by the narrators. Indeed throughout there was a smooth move of focus between narrators and the ‘action’.

The argument between Mag and Joe had a natural rise and fall in the dialogue – ending with them both in fits of giggles. Joe handled his long speech well with some well-motivated moves, the scene being kept visually alive so it never seemed like a ‘long speech.’ The important shafts of comedy were brought out very well here. The production built strongly through the teasing to build to the embrace and the kiss. That was a lovely moment but hold it a shade longer.

The music underscoring was an inventive touch but it was too loud so we missed some of the final exchanges. However we could detect their mood of elation even if the words were drowned.

It was an interesting idea to have the narrators step into the shadows and go off together following the young couple thus adding a final note of intrigue to the piece.

Performances

JOE
This Joe came across as serious and earnest – but with a strong sense of humour. Because he was likeable and wholesome it added to the poignancy of his being trapped into marriage and more so when we hear of his death. His youthful physicality and his alert mind added to that sense of loss which makes the play so moving. Congratulations on the Ulster accent was spot-on. The long speech was handled very successfully as was his amusing take-off of Father Kelly! An actor with a natural charm.

MAGS
Friel describes Mags as ‘bubbling with life, enthusiasm and intensity – either elated or depressed with no permanent emotion’ and all that was clearly evident in this performance. She had an excitable mercurial free spirit. It was a pity we missed the Ulster accent which robbed the role of total credibility. Make more of the moments where the sparky façade drops eg ‘I am terrified Joe!’ Use the pause on a few occasions to highlight key lines and watch the voice is not lost in the heavens when you are stretched out. But it was an enjoyable portrayal of somebody who would be infuriating to live with but was totally engaging for a short time!

MAN/WOMAN
Firstly congratulations for learning the part and not opting for the easy line and reading the words. After the first few speeches which were rushed they found exactly the right tempo and rhythm. The story was told in a clear, cool, dispassionate manner so the picture was clearly painted in our mind. Above all they were unobtrusive and contributed much to the overall success of the production.

Conclusion

This production achieved the balance between the cool, unemotional facts and the vitality and hope of youth A stronger sense of time and place might be brought out but there was much to admire here – especially in the way the central relationship was developed. It made an effective and affecting piece of theatre.

Colin Dolley (Member of the 'Guild of Drama Adjudicators')
May 2004