Fish out of Water

RoCo's latest production, a comedy entitled, “Fish out of Water” by Derek Benfield, offered the cast a wonderful opportunity to show off their talents, an opportunity that they did not miss. The playwright challenges each of the cast in a different way - some have interesting and complex characters to portray, others have short lines buts lots of them, often containing very similar phrases, which makes it difficult to keep the play on track. I am happy to report that this challenge did not deter the cast, who coped admirably with all that the writer threw at them.

The result was a most amusing play, expertly produced by Pauline Pitman, with a deceptively manipulative central character (Agatha Hepworth), brilliantly played by Andrea Varnavides, and her apparently doleful and petulant sister (Fiona Francis), very cleverly played by Irene McCartney. Ken McCormac and Andrea Wells were extremely amusing and convincing as the “Brigadier” (who, in fact, had been only a cook sergeant in the army) and his wife. Emma Falcão MacFadyen was excellent as the maid, and it was marvellous to welcome two new men to RoCo, Eóin O'Toole and Paul Byrne, each of whom played their very different parts with great skill and stage presence. It is to be hoped that they will be convinced to stay with RoCo, as they bring vital new talent to the Society.

Of course, RoCo does not just consist of a producer and those who appear on stage. Without a very inventive Stage Crew the marvellous set would not have materialised; without attentive and dedicated stage management the play would not have proceeded without hiccup; without lighting and sound, props, wardrobe, assistance with make-up and a prompt, the characters would not have looked as good as they did. Thanks too to the Theatre Management team who work away behind the scenes to ensure the smooth running of the event. Congratulations to all concerned for a most entertaining evening

Bill Robertson