On Wednesday 19th of October, Transition Year Students from St.Wolstans went to see "Juno and The Paycock" by Seán O Casey in The Abbey Theater Dublin. This is my review of the Play:
The curtains first opened with the sounds of powerful Irish music and the lights going down.
The first thing I noticed was the striking set. It was very simple yet realistic and looking at it i felt as though I was in an Old Dublin Tenement myself. The props were very simple; a table and chairs, a bed in the corner with a curtain around it, a small kitchen space where a stove lay, a small mirror on the wall, a window and several pieces of rough wooden boards to separate two rooms from the rest of the full room.
The walls and floor were very old looking and all of the furniture looked very worn. By looking at the set you could tell straight away that the people who lived here were very poor.
During the play the light on stage changed to suit the time of the day, the light coming through the window was very natural looking and done very well.
Sausages were cooked and a cigar was smoked on stage and this added to the realistic effect of the set.
When the scene changed there was also a change of set. Expensive looking furniture had filled the stage and this showed how the Boyle family had impulsively spent the money they had come into.
Overall I thought the set was excellent and this caught my interest the most.
The Actors played each character very well and the appearance and clothing of each character was done very well also.
Mrs. Boyle was played brilliantly, exactly how I had pictured her to act only, of her appearance I would have thought she would be a bit of a bigger women, however it still worked very well. In the tragic scene of Johnny's death, Mrs.Boyle's character faced the audience on her own and said a very dramatic speech on the death of her son. I found that this was very effective and emotional and it was acted out so brilliantly. This in my opinion was the best piece of acting in the play.
Mr. Boyle and Joxer brought humour and lightheartedness to the play and had the whole theater laughing. Mr. Boyle's laziness and sudden pains in his legs anytime a job came up was very entertaining also.
Johnny's moody character was played very well also, the scene where he was taken away was very dramatic and caught the audiences attention.
Mary was very pretty and dressed very nicely. She came across as how I had pictured her, a young and independant woman. The actress who played her was excellent and her accent was brilliant also.
All actors played their characters brilliantly and their performances were outstanding.
The Dublin accents that each character had, helped set the scene. I found it was a lot easier to understand what they were saying watching on stage than reading.
The Play gave a me great insight into 1920s Dublin, how it looked, family life and the troubles people went through at that time. It showed how money can affect a family and start great troubles.
From viewing and studying this play, I believe Seán O Casey's overall outlook of the world is quite dark, he shows the affects of cultural context, conflict, money loss and deaths in a family. On a lighter side however, O'Casey shows the importance of the role of women in society through Mrs.Boyle and Mary and brings humor into the play through Mr.Boyle and Joxer.
In my opinion, Seán O Casey's Juno and the Paycock could not have been done any better. The play was really brought to life on stage. I would highly recommend seeing this play as I believe it was an outstanding performance and I greatly enjoyed it.
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