Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth adapted for stage and directed by Johnny Hanrahan

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Castle Rackrent By Maria Edgeworth Adapted for Stage by Johnny Hanrahan

Thurs 8th to Sat 10th Nov 2018


“Cast your eye all around & I'll bet you a pound That none like the Rackrents are there to be found. “


A Wrong Being Righted This year is the 250th anniversary of the birth of Maria Edgeworth, the eldest daughter of Richard Lovell Edgeworth. Maria was born in Oxfordshire on the 1st January 1768. However, after her mother passed away Maria returned with her family to live in on her father’s estate in Edgeworthstown at just five years of age. After living here for two years she was sent to boarding school in England until she was 14. At this point, she returned to Edgeworthstown where she resided until her death in 1849 at the age of 81. During her lifetime she was a prolific writer of plays, novels, letters and Irish short stories for children, she has left a legacy that has enriched the social history of Ireland and County Longford. Her writing has influenced the likes of Jane Austen, Walter Scott and Harriet Beecher Stowe to name but a few. Many of her works are concerned with the rich Irish character which she greatly admired. Today, Edgeworth’s legacy has largely been ignored, but through the work of the Edgeworth Society this is slowly being set to right, with the development of The Edgeworth Story and the preservation of Edgeworth sites and memorabilia.

This anniversary year, celebrations have been held in Rome, United Kingdom and America. At home events have been organised by the Royal Irish Academy, (of which she was an honorary member as women were not permitted to be members) The Royal Dublin Society and Trinity College Dublin. The Society are delighted that through the support of Creative Ireland Longford, Backstage Canal Studio productions in association with Johnny Hanrahan have adapted her most famous novel Castle Rackrent for the stage. It is also heartening to see the wide community involvement in the production. In the early 19th century Maria Edgeworth had trouble getting her plays produced (a problem encountered by many women playwrights in Ireland-then and today!) so it is so appropriate now to see that wrong being righted if only two hundred years too late. Matthew Farrell The Edgeworth Society.


A Novel of Genius Castle Rackrent was one of the first texts I adapted for the stage way back in 1990. That was when I had just started Meridian Theatre Company in Cork with my old sparring partner, composer, John Browne. The show, created for a small ensemble, played firstly in the Granary Theatre and then in Cork Opera House to very good houses, but we had neither the wish nor the resources to take it further at that point. Since then several producers have asked me about re-mounting it but there never seemed to be a credible context in which to mount it until this year of commemoration when Matt Farrell of Edgeworthstown fame inquired about a possible production here. Discussions with Backstage and with Creative Ireland followed and to the great credit of both bodies they rowed in wholeheartedly with the idea of mounting a new adaptation of the classic novel with a large community cast of actors, dancers and musicians. All ages and talents are represented in the thirty strong company that then formed around the idea, and performers from all over Longford and surrounding counties are now involved. Castle Rackrent is a novel of genius, probably the greatest neglected masterpiece in the Irish canon.

Its brilliance lies in the perfect balance of wry humour and serious social commentary that Maria Edgeworth managed to sustain throughout the work. In the character of Thady Quirke, the first unreliable narrator, she created a character as complex and as compelling as any in Irish literature. It’s impossible to know if everything he says is ironic or whether he is able simultaneously to remain loyal to his dissolute AngloIrish masters while exposing their grotesque failings with lethal wit. Either way he is a hilarious, dangerous, fascinating creation who is as threatening as he is funny and he towers over all the other crazy characters in this crazy big house of which he seems more like the puppet master than the old retainer. The novel’s comic energy requires a comic staging so , with John Browne, Skype and a band of local performers we have created a musical rendering of the text which involves many songs, a ceili, a sham wake when one of the Rackrents decides to attend his own funeral and a court case which is entirely sung. Wonderful musicians of different ages such as piper Noel Carbery and violinist Aisling O’Reilly under the


musical direction of Bridie Goble have been working on the piece since August and their contribution, with the rest of the band of young musicians, gives the whole thing a joyful edge which matches the spirit of the original and the tremendously committed performances from Vanessa Flood, Declan Neville, Paraic Newman and the rest of the dynamic company of actors, Castle Rackrent is definitely the greatest Irish novel you’ve never read. Hopefully, with this show , you’ll get a sense of all that is best in the original and maybe put that gap in your reading to rights. Johnny Hanrahan Director


A Very Rich Literary Tradition Longford County Council through Creative Ireland Longford are delighted to have worked collaboratively with the Backstage Theatre and the Edgeworth Society to bring CastleRackrent, Maria Edgeworth’s most famous and timeless work to a whole new audience. Castle Rackrent which tells the story of four generations of Rackrent heirs through their steward, Thady Quirk was first published in 1800 and has been described by the acclaimed Irish writer WB Yeats as “one of the most inspired chronicles ever written in English”. Longford has a very rich literary tradition with famous writers from the past like Oliver Goldsmith, Padraic Colum and Maria Edgeworth and this tradition has been proudly carried forward by award winning contemporary writers such as Belinda McKeon, Alan McMonagle, Noel Monahan, John Connell and many more. There is also a thriving amateur drama scene in this county and we are delighted that Johnny Hanrahan

along with ahuge cast of talented local amateur drama enthusiasts, musicians, and dancers all taking part in this very special production on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the birth of Maria Edgeworth. Mary Carleton Reynolds Longford County Coordinator Creative Ireland


“ But come down to earth

to the land of your birth Where the nobles still know the real meaning of mirth.

“


“ The pen, they say, weighs “

less than the shovel. I’ll die in a palace though born in a hovel.


A Community Production in every Sense When Johnny Hanrahan approached me with a proposal to create a stage adaptation of ‘Castle Rackrent’ by Maria Edgeworth, I jumped at the opportunity to spearhead this at Backstage for a number of reasons. Firstly I knew Johnny of old from his time in Meridian Theatre Co and welcomed the chance to work with him once again. Secondly, I was very excited at the prospect of celebrating the work of Maria Edgeworth in the year of the 250th anniversary of her birth by staging this adaptation at the theatre. Having the support and advice of Matt Farrell of the Edgeworth Society and Mary Reynolds Longford Library and Creative Ireland, from the outset was crucial to getting this project off the ground. Both were hugely enthusiastic and of great assistance to us, on so many levels. We are hugely indebted to Creative Ireland who generously funded this project. We were extremely fortunate that a Director of Johnny’s experience and talent had such an appreciation and love for the work of Maria Edgeworth and was willing to create this wonderful stage adaptation of her acclaimed novel and travel from Cork to Longford every weekend

to work with our cast to bring it to life right here in her home county. And what a cast! We have an ensemble of 30 people on stage, actors, singers and musicians of all ages, a truly wonderful bunch of people with whom it has been a joy to work. They have given so much time and commitment to this production. I just can’t say how grateful we are to them all. It is truly fitting that many of these are from Edgeworthstown, not just on our cast but helping with costume and production crew. The Edgeworthstown community has really got behind this production and I am so thankful to them and have really enjoyed working with them. This is, in every sense, a community production and it is truly the community that has made it! I hope that you, our audience, enjoy it! Mona Considine Producer


Cast and Crew Paraic Newman Gerard Rafferty Declan Neville Vanessa Flood Ciara Tuite Camilla Kelly Jimmy Connell Ronan Flynn Carol Ann Farrelly Diarmuid McGuinness Niall Brewster Emer Tyrrell Margaret Dunne Kate O’Donohoe

Thady Quirke Sir Patrick Sir Murtagh and Sir Condy Isabella Judy Skinflint Sir Kit Sir Kit Jessica Jason Quirke Agent/ Moneygawl/Seanin Eileen/Election agent Widow Lanigan Eileen O’ Domhnaill

Acting ensemble: Gladys Dunne, Eileen Spillane, Peter Costello, Adam McIntyre, Erin Ross, Triona Maloney, Deirdre O Rourke Special thanks to Backstage Theatre Group, Mostrim Players and The Edgeworthstown Society and Pauline Flood

Adapted, directed and designed by Johnny Hanrahan Music composed by John Browne Musicians: Bridie Gobl Noel Carberry Aisling O’ Reilly Mikey Doyle Harry Reynolds Setanta Flood Grace Ross Shauna Manning Producer Musical Director Stage manager Set construction Lighting Costumes Photography Crew

Keyboard Uilleann pipes and tin whistle Violin Guitar and Box Guitar Drums Bodhran, banjo Violin Mona Considine Bridie Gobl Killian Reid Doug Fox Roberts Declan Leonard Eileen Spillane, Josephine Lynch, Betty Mulhare Doug Fox Roberts Conor Callan


Quinns Supply Stores Ltd Edgeworthstown & Granard

Proud Arts & Culture Regional Winners of the National Lottery Good Causes Awards 2018 In recognition of our community projects such as Castle Rackrent

T: 043 6671005 Edgeworthstown T: 043 6686009 Granard E: quinnssupplystores@eircom.net

www.toplinequinns.ie


it my duty to say a few words, “ Iinthinkthe first place, concerning myself. My real name is Thady Quirk, though in the family I have always been known by no other than Honest Thady,

“


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