By Conor O’Neill
If you’re like me and a fan of all things Bruiser Theatre Company and find artistic director Lisa May’s outstanding work, well, outstanding, you’ll be as excited as I am about Bruiser’s upcoming adaptation of award winning playwright and screenwriter, Owen McCafferty’s Mojo Mickybo.
McCafferty, whose film credits include Ordinary Love and last year’s Out of Orbit, which won Best Movie at The Irish Film and Television Awards, in tandem with Bruiser, May and all the collective talents behind the camera offer you three nights of live, online theatre with a return to his classic tale of childhood innocence, adventure and a fragile friendship set in war-torn 1970s Belfast, AKA Mojo Mickybo.
Yes, you probably will recall the film Mickybo and Me which follows the two cowboy-movie-mad lads’ misadventures, but nothing really beats the format it was written for.
With the government to-ing and fro-ing over when, if ever, theatres will be allowed to open, Bruiser, like many local theatre companies are taking the hallowed boards to screen. It’s been quite a while since I’ve had the pleasure of a Bruiser play, but if memory serves, expect high energy, minimal set with sublime and inventive changes and, of course politically charged, provocative theatre. And the sprinkles-on-top is the live shows are being streamed from The Lyric Theatre, Belfast.
The buses are burning, ethnic cleansing on both sides of the community is being carried out and two lads from ‘opposing’ sides bond over movies, smoking their first ciggie and basically being mischievous little shits.
Focusing on the two main characters, this production features just two actors, namely Michael Condron – Game of Thrones, Doing Money – and Terry Keely – The Ferryman, Derry Girls. Of course, you like me will be wondering how two fully grown men, one with a beard, can pull off a plot seen through the eyes of a nine and 10-year-old.
Little doubt all will become clear as the curtain rises.
Director and producer, Lisa May said: “We at Bruiser are very excited to be producing Mojo Mickybo and streaming theatre for a global audience. It flies at breakneck speed, is witty, darkly funny and searingly honest; perfect to explore Bruiser’s bold, physical style.
“To me, it feels like McCafferty’s love letter to Belfast, warts and all, and shows how sectarian anger is so deeply buried into the psyche of those who have grown up through the Troubles. It has passed on to generation after generation. Nostalgic yet damning, hilarious yet heartbreaking.
“Mojo Mickybo is sadly all too relevant for today’s audience, not just in Northern Ireland but around the world.”
For tickets visit Eventbrite or http://www.lyrictheatre.co.uk
The shows kick off at 7pm.
Review to follow tomorrow.
ENDS
CultureCrush NI 