Humorous “Moll” offers ‘insight into what makes us tick’
South Tipp Today recently caught up with Juanita Guidera who plays the leading roll of Moll in Clonmel Theatre Guild’s upcoming production of the same name. Moll will take to the stage in the White Memorial Theatre from 20th-23rd May.
“There are a lot of reasons why I was interested in the role of Moll. In short, I wanted to be part of a play that would make an audience laugh and where I knew I’d enjoy rehearsals with the cast and crew. There’s great joy when you’re involved in a play where people go home laughing. In first hearing about and then reading John B Keane’s Moll, I was struck by the potential for humour from the opening scene with Miss Andover to the antics of the curates in response to Moll’s actions,” Juanita tells South Tipp Today.
Although the play is set “some time ago”, Juanita hails John B Keane’s “incredible insight into what makes us tick”. She says: “The play offers an insight into the potential power of female characters, and while I may not always agree with Moll’s methods I can understand why she does what she does.
“Acting allows you to play, pretend and make believe – there aren’t many opportunities to do so as an adult and I love that with a character like Moll I can do all that. It’s a challenging role but it’s a lot of fun. I get to work on her voice, her Kerry accent, the way she moves, her character and best of all the rehearsals with the rest of the cast including Ger Meagher, Edmond Ryan, Desmond Cunningham, Margaret Morrissey, Amanda Kirwan, Michael Hennessy, Jim Malone, Tom Callery and Colum Dunne are great craic”.
The cast are currently rehearsing two to three nights a week with director Patricia Harte, but that will increase after Easter. “Patricia puts us though our paces, encourages us and each night it’s amazing to see the characters develop and the enjoyment that brings. In between rehearsal times the cast are learning their lines and the production team are working on everything from the set, lights, sound, music, props and publicity to make sure people know about it in time to get tickets … it was a great honour to get the part of Moll. I’m looking forward to the coming weeks of rehearsals and I hope the audience will enjoy the show,” Juanita concludes.
If you would like to get involved in the guild, e-mail them at info@clonmeltheatreguild.org. Tickets are currently available online at www.clonmeltheatreguild.org or on their Facebook page, and will be available in Marian’s Bookshop in early May.
