by Sam Mooney

I spent some time in Donegal thanks to the Toronto Irish Players’ production of Frank McGuinness’s play Factory Girls at the Alumnae Theatre.  It’s the first play by Frank McGuinness that I’ve seen and also the first production by the Toronto Irish Players.  Both are now on my see again list.

Factory Girls follows 5 women working in the inspection department of a shirt factory in Donegal in the ‘70s.  The factory is old, the economy is crap, the manager is new, the union rep is old which means there’s lots of built-in tension and conflict.

Continue reading Factory Girls at the Alumnae Theatre →

By Sam Mooney

Want to be entertained? Hay Fever, playing at the Alumnae Theatre will do so in grand style.  Written in 1925, Hay Fever is Noel Coward at his funniest. The plot – and I use the term loosely – revolves around a family and their weekend house guests in the country.

It’s very funny.  The set is a sweet re-creation of a country sitting room.  Throughout the play there was a silk stocking hanging from the chandelier  that no one seemed to notice.  There was also a barometer that kept falling off the wall, – I think this was actually a prop issue – but it was still funny every time it happened.

Continue reading Hay Fever – Alumnae Theatre Company →

By Sam Mooney

Have you ever noticed that plays based on actual events are always heartbreaking?  The Making of St Jerome from eastBoundplayers playing as part of the Next Stage Festival is no exception.  The most heartbreaking thing about the play is that there are no answers, not even to the most basic question.  Why?

Continue reading Next Stage Festival – The Making of St. Jerome – eastBOUNDtheatre →